Furious Fox
by Fire Inu Princess
Summary: Naruto is a fox demon that lives among humans, but everyone hates and fears him. One day, he is told that he is the legendary warrior that everyone has been waiting for hundreds of years for. What is he to do? Learn how to fight and harness his chakra and fulfill his destiny of course. Based off of Kung Fu Panda.
1. Naruto the Fox Demon

_It was beautiful day in the village of Konoha. A day that anyone could really enjoy, a day that could and should be filled with joyish laughter for the young children that roamed the village streets. At least, for all but for one child. A small child that was never accepted because he was different compared to the other children. A little boy, with spikey blonde hair, the brightest set of blue eyes that anyone has ever seen. Three whisker marks that adorn his cheeks. A small black hair tie held back his crimson ponytail, another part of him that made him different compared to other children._

 _He stared at his reflection in the mirror, a frown on his cute adorable five year old face. The little boy had always known that he was different compared to other children, his father, always telling him that just because he wasn't like other children, didn't mean he was what the other children was._

 _Letting out a soft sigh, the little boy opened his door and made his way over to the stairs and walked his way to the kitchen that made up the restaurant that his father owned. Looking around, he saw that his father wasn't in the kitchen, or maybe he was in the back. Maybe today he could make a friend today… After all, his father didn't want him to leave the restaurant because people around the village didn't treat him fairly._

 _Taking one look around, the little boy didn't see his father around, so that made things easier for him to escape… He wanted to go out and play with other kids his age. That would be something that would make things perfect for him because he would be able to make a friend at long last! Grinning ear to ear, the young boy made his way out of the restaurant and through the streets. Hoping that there would be someone out here that he could play with._

 _Looking around the street, the little boy was rather surprised that no one was around as of yet. It was rather puzzling that there was no one around but thought that maybe no one was even awake as of yet. Though, he hoped that there was someone at the very least that was awake right now. Frowning a little, the little boy was starting to think that maybe it was best that he went on home… Who would want to play with him anyway?_

 _Before he knew it, someone grabbed him by his ponytail, causing the little boy yelp out from pain as he felt someone pull, throwing him into a wall. Wincing in pain, he fell onto his rear as he looked up and stared into the three faces of some boys that were only a few years older than himself. "Look at what we got here guys, it's the village freak." Said the boy in the middle, Naruto assumed that it was the leader of the group._

 _"But… my names Naruto…" said the little boy with a frown on his face._

 _"Shut up freak. Why are you out here? I thought your 'daddy' didn't let you out. Thought he kept the freak under lock and key." Said the boy on the right. Before Naruto could say anything else, the boy on the left kicked Naruto in the head, causing the little boy to cry out in pain as he fell onto the ground. Shaking his head, the little blonde and crimson haired boy tried to push himself back up, only for one of the three boys slammed his heel into Naruto's spine. Causing him to cry out in pain once more._

 _"Why are you… hurting me?" asked out Naruto as he tried to push himself up once more. Why was this happening? He knew that he would be called names, but to be beaten up like this? That was something that Naruto didn't think that this could happen to him. He wanted to stop this, wanted to do what he could to stop it… but what could he do? The only thing he could do, his father told him to never do it in the first place because it would cause more harm than it should for someone his size…_

 _The boys sneered at him, the leader coming up to Naruto as he said "because you aren't normal freak. You do not belong here, everyone knows it. We're going to do something that the adults are just too afraid to do. We're gonna finish you off!" With that said, he kicked Naruto in the face, sending the little boy flying onto his back. Blood spurting from his nose, causing Naruto to cry out in pain. He never knew that he could feel this much pain before in his entire life, it was something that was terrible, something that he wouldn't want for anyone no matter how much wrong they had done him but… he didn't think that this pain could get any worse for him…_

 _When he looked up from the ground, he weakly stared at the boys, kicking him in the ribs, the back and his face. Naruto thought that he was going to die… he was going to die at the age of five. Blinking slowly, he whispered "daddy… help… me…" Around that moment, he started to black out… He was surrounded by nothing but darkness. There was no way that he could get out of this, maybe he was already dead… and just wasn't aware of it. Maybe this was his punishment for not listening to his father? He had no clue…_

 _"Naruto!" shouted a voice, causing the little boy to frown in confusion. He had no idea who could be yelling for him… but the voice was getting clearer and clearer for him as the voice kept yelling for him. He could feel a great sense of peace washing over him. How was this even possible? Blinking slowly, Naruto opened his eyes and looking into the concerned eyes of his father… "Oh god, Naruto you're alright! Thank god you're alright… I thought I lost you…"_

 _"Dad? What… What happened?" asked Naruto in a soft whisper._

 _"You… blacked out and…" his father stopped for a moment, it almost seemed like just saying it would hurt him. Now, Naruto was concerned about what was going on but he knew, that he had to know. "You started to attack those boys Naruto…" Naruto's eyes widened in shock and fear, how could he have… no! "You didn't kill them, but they are sent to the healer to be tended to. Naruto… promise me that you won't fight… That was what caused this. Just run, never fight again just run and run fast."_

 _Naruto just stared at his father for a moment. He knew that he couldn't just keep running but… maybe his father was right. If he had attacked someone just from getting into a fight… then it could happen again. He didn't want to hurt anyone. The thought of it scared him greatly. Gulping a little, Naruto nodded as he said "okay dad… I won't fight anymore. I don't want to hurt anyone…"_

 _Even though he said those words, Naruto didn't want to keep them. There was one person that he wanted to keep safe, his father. How could he make sure that he could keep his father safe without any trouble? There wasn't much he could do, but to break his only real promise; even though he didn't want to break it._

Naruto groaned a bit as he felt his head slam into the floor. Blinking his blue eyes, the young man sighed softly as he rubbed his head. "Stupid dream…" mumbled the blonde haired man before rolling over and pushing himself up to his feet. The young man ran his hand through his blonde spikey bangs before reaching over to his side table and grabbed his black hair tie and his brush. He didn't know what he should expect today, though… what other twenty-five year old should expect in the first place?

Walking over to his mirror, the young man brushed his long red hair, it reached up to his waist… To be honest he had no idea why he didn't look like his dad but at the same time, he didn't care. No one ever questioned it in the first place. Shaking his head, the young man stared back at his reflection. He was tall for a man, wasn't overly muscular from the heavy lifting he does for his dad but at the same time he was far more powerful than others wanted to believe…

Frowning at his reflection, Naruto closed his eyes and focused… He wanted to ignore what he sees as well in the mirror. Opening his eyes once more, he saw that he was still looking at what it was, that made him different. Behind him were nine swaying orange tails… a pair of orange fox ears resting atop of his head, fangs and claws… It was a sure sign that he wasn't like the others. It was the only thing that people feared about him. Because he was different… he wasn't like them and he knew that no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

Inhaling deeply, the young man knew that this was something that sometimes happened in the morning. He would end up transforming into his fox form when he was asleep, and he was thankful that no one else saw him like this other than his father. Though he also had to be careful for there were other ways for him to transform though he tried to keep that when he was home… No need to make others fear him as it was.

Soon, his fox appendages disappeared, leaving him to look one hundred percent human. Walking over to his closet, he pulled out an orange shirt and black shorts. After that, he grabbed his blue toeless shoes before making his way down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he said "hey dad, I'm ready to work!"

Turning around from the counter was a tall man with his brown hair pulled up in a high spiky ponytail. Tanned skin, a scar across this nose and his brown eyes shining with joy. He wore a simple white shirt and blue pants as he said "hey Naruto, you alright? You sounded like you were having a nightmare." Naruto knew that he couldn't really hide anything from his dad, not like he ever wanted to really hide anything from him in the first place…

Giving a nervous laugh, Naruto said "it's nothing bad dad. I promise. So, what do you want me to do today?" He didn't want to have his father worry about him too much. It was hard enough for the man to be a single parent, let alone worry about his son, who just happened to be a demon. His dad smiled before handing Naruto a package, causing him to look down and frowned a little. "You want me to deliver something dad? You sure?"

"Of course, I trust you completely son." His father said with a chuckle.

"Hey Iruka, where are my noodles!" shouted a customer. Iruka shook his head before he went to handle some of the orders that were coming through. Telling his son to make sure that when he was done with the package, to get his apron on and get to serving. Nodding his head, Naruto made his way out of the restaurant and walked down the street.

To be honest, he didn't think that there was much of a point in him even delivering anything for his dad, no one liked him in the first place. Everyone either slammed doors in his face or beat him. The worst thing that he had dealt with was being called a monster. Some people, of course knew what he was, and feared him for it. Though they didn't seem to hate his dad for raising him at all… If that was the case, then they wouldn't be able to eat his famous noodles. Food that Naruto himself enjoyed very much.

Looking around the village, Naruto noticed some of the glares that people would give him. Oh how he wanted to beat them up for their glares though, he knew that he couldn't do that. It would only disappoint his father and of course, let Iruka know that Naruto had not listened to him… When he had made that one promise as a child, he promised not to get into any fights. Though, when he went out alone, he had gone to the forest to practice his strength… He didn't want to hurt anyone with his immense strength, so to prevent that, he would try to harness that strength to prevent himself from hurting people… and because of that, when people would try to hit him, he would mostly just shove them away hard enough to give him some space to run, but also not enough strength to hurt them.

Naruto looked up at the sky, seeing that it was a beautiful day for a nice walk. Maybe he could go out to the forest and do some training? After all, he had more strength so if anyone tried to rob his dad, then he could prevent it from happening! Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto thought _'if I can protect my dad's store, than maybe people will start to respect me!'_ then he frowned before adding "then again… maybe they will just confirm that I really am a monster…" He sighed softly before making his way to the house and knocking on the wood of the door.

The door opened a crack, preventing Naruto from seeing who it was that he had to deliver this to. "Um… hello, my dad Iruka wanted me to bring this to you." The person didn't answer right away, in fact all Naruto could see was a strange eye looking at him, causing him to gulp a little… Whoever this person was, it made him nervous. "Um… are… are you going to take it?"

The person reached out a gloved hand and grabbed the package before saying "wait there." With that, the door closed for a moment, it made Naruto think that maybe the guy, at least assuming that it was a guy's voice he heard, was going to get something to throw at him. That made him feel a little nervous though he knew that he would have to be prepared for anything that would be thrown right at him no matter what it was.

Before he could think more on the matter, the door opened, and the gloved hand reached out once again this time, holding a small pouch. Blinking his eyes in surprise, he asked "what is that?"

"Your payment for bringing this to me. Your father didn't want much for it…" Okay, this was rather odd, normally people didn't pay him directly when he made a delivery for his dad… Normally, they just threw the money out at him as they told him to 'take it and get out of here' and then slamming the door in their face. "Your father is a nice man… didn't think I'd have such a friendly face after moving to this village." With that, he closed the door leaving Naruto along to his thoughts. That, was rather odd… so a new guy moved to the village… and he didn't treat Naruto poorly because of what he was… Odd…

Shaking his head, he started to make his way over to his dad's restaurant. The only thing he wanted was to hurry up and get on home before something bad would happen to him. That would be the last thing that he wanted was to run into some guys thinking that they could take down the 'monster' of the village.

On his way back, Naruto saw some of the guys that lived to torment him. Letting out a soft groan, he knew that he would have to take a small detour but wasn't sure if he could do that and people not call out to the 'monster' as he did so. Shaking his head, the young man knew that he had two choices. It was either get his ass handed to him, or go around. _'Go around…'_ he thought to himself before he jumped up onto a new by tree branch, jumping from branch to branch as he made his way higher and higher then started to run along the fence toward his father's restaurant. Though, what he had failed to notice, was that a certain someone was watching him from the shadows… whispering only one thing…

"So it is you… I have to give my report…"

* * *

"Made it." Said Naruto as he jumped from the fence, landing just outside of his father's restaurant. It didn't take as much time as he thought it would, though at least he was back home. Looking upward toward the mountains, he could see the Crimson Palace, it was where the greatest warriors resided. The Furious Five, the greatest warriors who have learned to harness and control their chakra. It was rare to harness that kind of power, and even rarer to not be consumed by it.

"They would never let someone like me in… Only normal people are allowed in there." He let out a soft sigh before he started to make his way inside to help his father. Maybe he could have something interesting happen to him at some point, yeah he wanted more out of life. He wanted what anyone would want, to find a purpose in his life, find someone, maybe get married and have a family of his own. But… would it work for him just like that? He highly doubted it since after all, who would want a demon for their husband?

 _'No one…'_ thought Naruto with a sigh before he started to take orders. Ignoring all the glares that he would receive from everyone around him. He just had a big smile on his face as he took some orders… Well, that was until there was a scream by the entrance. Turning his head, Naruto saw a few guys in cloaks entering the restaurant, all of them holding swords. Narrowing his eyes a little, he wondered what it was that they wanted…

"Everyone here, stay down. We just want the money." Said one of the cloaked figures. Naruto stood before them, narrowing his blue eyes angrily. Sure, he didn't like anyone in the village, but he couldn't allow them to get hurt… "Oh look at what we got here. Someone who thinks he's a hero." Naruto just let out a small growl, a growl of warning.

"Naruto don't!" shouted Iruka, not wanting his son to get hurt. Naruto had turned to look at his father for a brief moment, at least until Naruto was smacked with the flat side of the sword, causing the young man to fall onto the ground, groaning slightly. "Naruto!" shouted Iruka as he went to rush toward his son.

"Dad don't!" shouted Naruto before he pushed himself up onto his feet, rubbing his face as he felt a cut on his cheek. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto said "you aren't gonna be stealing from anyone." With that, Naruto rushed forward, though he knew that he would have to be careful, not wanting to hurt them… too badly.

Ripping off his apron, Naruto held his left arm back, and his right arm forward, his ring and pinky fingers were pressed against his palm, while his index and middle fingers were just curled and his thumbs held up straight. Eyes narrowed as he prepared himself to fight. Sure, he knew that he had no fighting experience, but at the moment, he didn't give a damn, his demonic energy would keep him from getting hurt too badly… The men though just laughed, thinking that someone like him could take them all on. "Get him." Said the leader, causing two of them to rush forward, and Naruto to not bother to think… he just seemed to flow with his movements.

Ducking down as one of the men went to cut his head off, Naruto slammed his fist against one of the robber's stomach. Causing him to fall over from the force of the hit. Then, Naruto placed his hands on the ground, lifting his leg up in a kick, kicking the other man in the head and causing him to fall over. He knew that was rather easy though at the moment, he wasn't going to complain about it. At least not at that moment. One of the men had managed to push themselves up and went to cut Naruto down to size, only for the blonde and crimson haired man to hold up his hand, catching the sword easily. The sword had managed to cut his palm, he didn't show any sign of pain or that it bothered him.

"You don't know when to quit do you?" He said before he spun his body around and kicked the thief in the side of his rib cage, sending him into a wall. Getting back up onto his feet, Naruto noticed that the leader had rushed toward him, sword held high in the air, before he could react, the sword sliced his face, causing Naruto to yelp out in pain and shock. Falling on his back, Naruto groaned as he felt the blood oozing out of the new cut on his face. How was it that he could feel that kind of pain on his face? He's normally immune to that kind of pain unless it was because he was unprepared for it that time since the leader hadn't done anything…

Growling, Naruto pushed himself up as he looked prepared to kick some serious ass. The leader just narrowed his eyes as he said "what are you?!"

Naruto's answer, well, his answer was simple. "I'm a noodle man." With that, he jumped in the air and kicked the leader out of the restaurant, and of course, leaving him out cold. Breathing heavily, the young man had no idea that he could feel like this in a fight, it was a rush but knew, that he would have to be careful. The only thing that he wanted was to protect his father and his home, but to have this kind of rush? He had no idea, but what he did know, was that he had done something that no one ever thought was possible for him. What he heard though, just broke his heart…

"Can't believe a monster saved us…"

Naruto sighed softly, picking up his apron, he then started to walk back into the kitchen to fix it up a bit. How was it that he had just saved them from robbers that they still thought of him as a monster? Shaking his head, Naruto went to work… only for a hand to be placed on his shoulder, and him to look up into the proud eyes of his father. "Hey son… that was amazing… I'm proud of you son."

"At least… someone is dad. At least someone is…" Naruto whispered before looking away.

Meanwhile, someone had watched the whole thing take place. He couldn't believe that the boy was able to do all of that, with no training at all. The boy had some real talent… This boy must have been the one his master was looking for… though, he couldn't be sure. He had to report back to him now anyway… Because if his master was right, then the time was coming soon and everyone, was going to end up in danger…

* * *

 **hey everyone, Fire Inu Princess here, just thought I should say that my cast is off after three weeks, and now I have to wear a brace since I couldn't wear the cast for the full eight weeks because of where its broken, though while I was waiting for the cast to come off, I couldn't help but think on a new story so I'll try to update this here and there, I hope you enjoy the story nd future updates.**


	2. Master Hinata

Naruto yawned softly, it had been a few days since the bandits attacked the restaurant. The young man rubbed his head and sighed softly as he tried to get himself out of bed though to be honest, he had no idea why he even bothered to help people. People still hated him even after he had saved them from getting robbed, or worse, killed. Looking at his palm, he didn't see any cut or scar like he should have. It was normal for him, any wound or injury he'd receive would just fade and disappear.

Sighing, he pushed himself out of bed and made his way to his mirror and brushed his hair before tying it into its usual ponytail. It was his routine every day… every… single… day.

Shaking his head, Naruto made his way downstairs and saw that his dad was struggling with customers. Frowning, he rushed over and put on his apron saying "hang on dad, I'll bring out the orders." Iruka smiled at his son as if saying 'thanks Naruto' though couldn't get himself to say anything because of all the orders that were coming in. Normally, Naruto could easily carry all the extra orders with his tails, but sadly, no one really liked touching anything his tails would touch, it had taken a while for them to accept that he handled the food.

Grabbing the bowls, placing some of them on his hands, arms, and his head, the young man started to make his way over to the tables, placing all of the orders on the proper tables. Naruto smiled at them, completely ignoring the glares and hateful looks that he would receive. After all, what was the point in showing anyone that their looks really hurt you, it would only show that they were winning with their hate.

Before he knew it, Naruto yelped when he tripped over someone's foot. Crash landing on the ground, he groaned a little as he rubbed his face. "Watch where you're going freak!" shouted one of the men before laughing. Groaning, Naruto looked up, his face a little red and his nose bleeding from when he hit the ground. With the scatter of broken bowls, some of his skin was cut on his palms and his lower arms. "Aw look, the freak is bleeding, maybe he'll cry to."

"Shut up, you tripped me!" shouted Naruto before he pushed himself up shakily onto his feet. Damn it, of all the things that they had to do it was to trip him. He had enough trouble trying to balance himself without the help of his tails and now this! Before he knew it, the same man shoved him, causing Naruto to yelp once again and fall flat on his back. "Ow!" shouted the fox demon before letting out another groan. How was this still happening in the first place?! "Stop it dam it!" shouted the fox demon. The men just smirked at him before slamming his foot into the man's chest, causing Naruto to gasp out in pain.

"What are you going to do about it fox hm!?" shouted one of the men.

Coughing and wheezing, Naruto tried to catch his breath, why wasn't his father coming out of here? Couldn't he see the lack of blonde hair? "Damn it…" He was close to losing his mind, he knew that he had to get this to stop before he blacked out, he didn't want that to happen again. The last time it did, he almost killed someone, he didn't want to be seen as a monster! He worked so hard for people not to be as cruel to him like they were when he was a kid, nod it may happen again because these guys didn't get the hint. "St… Stop it." Wheezed Naruto, only to scream when one of their foot slams had broken his rib.

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka, it seemed that he had heard the blonde's loud scream of pain. In fact, Naruto had been so close to losing it, that his pupils had narrowed into slits, and looking monstrous as they started to go from blue to red with the pace of his heart. "Get away from my son!" shouted his father.

"Didn't you hear the man, he said to get away from him." It was at that point, everyone gasped and moved away, opening the path of the entrance to the restaurant as a woman started to walk through. Naruto groaned a little as he heard people muttering among themselves, it made Naruto a little curious as to who it was that came to the restaurant, and of course who would they be scared enough… "Get away from him right now." Said the voice, making Naruto wonder who it was.

"Son!" shouted Iruka as he rushed to Naruto's side, holding him enough so the blonde man could sit up. "Dear lord are you alright Naruto?! Why didn't you fight back?!"

"Because, you asked me not to fight anymore." Chuckling a little, Naruto added "I only fought yesterday, because it was to protect you and the shop." Iruka sighed softly before trying to help Naruto up, only for the fox to scream out in pain and hold his chest. "What's the matter?"

"He may have broken something." Said the new voice, the same one who got the men from beating him up. Looking up through one eye, Naruto saw that it was a woman. Blinking through the pain, the woman rushed toward him and that was when he couldn't help but notice her. Or at the very least, what she looked like. She had long beautiful blue hair pulled back in a braid, pale white eyes with a hint of lavender in them. A tight light purple vest with floral patterns and she wore loose fitting black pants with matching black slippers. "Let me help okay?"

"Who… are you?" asked Naruto, trying to think on where he had seen a woman like her. He knew that he's seen her before but he couldn't remember where that was. The woman looked at him with a frown only to smile, Naruto felt his heart beating quickly in his chest. No one has ever smiled at him like that before. Why was she smiling at him like that? He couldn't see a hint of fear or hate in her expression, just… concern. He couldn't help but wonder if she was just staring at him like that out of pity or if she was really concerned for him.

"I can't believe Master Hinata is here!" whispered one of the men.

Wait, did they say... Master Hinata?! No wonder why she looked so familiar to him! Oh god, he's had a crush on her since she was first introduced as master! He could still remember that day like it was yesterday… "I need you to relax okay? You do have a broken rib, so I'll have to use chakra to help you. Does he have anywhere to lay down on?"

"His bed, follow me Master Hinata." Iruka said before helping Naruto up, damn it. Even with his quick healing, it still hurt like hell. Was it even healing properly in the first place? Once he got to his bed, Naruto laid down and closed his eyes as Master Hinata started to treat his rib, though while she did that, he went into a deep sleep, and thought back to when he first saw her.

 _Naruto was walking down the streets with his father. It was a simple day for the fourteen year old though he just wanted it to be a day, one day, where people wouldn't be glaring at him like that. Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto dug his hands into his pockets as he looked around the village. Many kids playing around, teens kicking a ball just having the time of their lives. As for him? He was out running errands with his dad and of course, for the great reveal of the new masters._

 _"So son, I'm thinking while we're getting some things for the shop, you need some new clothes. I swear you're growing every day." Iruka said with a chuckle. Naruto looked up at his father and smiled a little. It was nice to get some new clothes sure, but… it would be nice to have some friends as well. He was always alone, never being accepted and he knew that. But, he knew that there was no way that he would ever have a friend. There was just no point to be honest._

 _Naruto just smiled up at his father as he said "that sounds cool dad." He always enjoyed the finer things that his dad could get him. It was nice to be able to get some new things once in a while, though he knew that it was hard for them to get money now since he started to help out. But, to give him something to do, Naruto worked for his dad, just wanting to do what he could to help out._

 _Taking another look around, the young man couldn't help but wonder what it was that he could do for today. As he and his father walked, he could faintly hear people whispering about him and his father. Why were they even talking about him in the first place? People knew that his father wasn't going to leave, more so since they had a life here. Even if people didn't want to accept the fact that he was different. That he was a demon…_

 _Taking a look up, Naruto asked "dad, how come my mom isn't around?" To be honest, it had been something that had bothered him for a very long time. He knew that if his father wasn't a demon, that maybe he had a demon mother, though that would make him a half-demon, yet he just wasn't sure of it as of yet._

 _"Um… well son, you see your mother well, that is very hard to explain." Iruka said with a frown on his face. That was confusing, though Naruto figured that he had his reason. Breathing deeply, the young teen went back to looking at what was surrounding him. It always amazed him that there could be anything great about this place, yet he wasn't going to complain about anything in the least._

 _Soon, the teen felt something hit his foot, causing him to stop before looking down and noticed a ball by his foot. Frowning a little, he picked it up and saw a little girl, staring at him with fear in her eyes. That almost broke Naruto's heart, a little kid being afraid of him when there is no reason to be afraid of him in the first place. Walking toward the girl, Naruto knelt in front of her and held out the ball for her. "Here, is this yours?"_

 _She could only nod, still afraid of him. Yup, this really broke his heart. Letting out a soft sigh, he set the ball on the ground and gently pushed it towards her. The little girl just stared at him for a moment, wondering if this was some kind of trick behind the whole thing. He just smiled at her for a moment before he watched the little girl pick up her toy and ran off._

 _Sighing softly, the young boy pushed himself up onto his feet and ran toward his father before walking next to him. "So dad, what are we doing after?"_

 _"After we get what we need for the shop, and meet the masters we'll clean up the shop then I'll show you how to make the dumplings!" Iruka said with a big smile on his face. Naruto smiled at the thought of it, he always wanted to learn how to make the dumplings that his dad always made. It was a secret family recipe though now he just couldn't wait to make them!_

 _"Everyone, it is time to introduce the masters!" called out someone. Iruka looked over, as did Naruto causing them to make their way toward the village square. Naruto and Iruka managed to get to the front of the crowd and watched as Grandmaster Jiraiya stood next to another man. Jiraiya was an odd man, he had long spikey white hair, red lines that almost looked like he was crying tears of blood. He wore a simple red robe and wooden sandals. The other man, Naruto knew to be the Great Grandmaster Hiruzen. Hiruzen wore a white and red robe, nothing grand about it, but he was still respected all the same. His short whitish grey hair was standing upright, his matching whitish grey beard lined his face._

 _"Who are they dad?" asked Naruto as he saw five people, teens, standing in a perfect line. Though while his father spoke, Naruto didn't pay any attention to him at all. No, his gaze fell onto the girl in the middle. She had short blue hair, wore a tight light purple vest and black pants, with matching black slippers. Her stands was perfect, relaxed but showed a hint of discipline. Naruto never knew that he could see someone… so beautiful to be a warrior such as her._

 _Naruto felt his cheeks warm, felt his heart beating quickly in his chest. If his tails were out he'd be swaying them with affection. Why did he feel like this? Why did he feel like he wanted to get to know her? It was amazing to feel like this, he never wanted the emotion to leave him but, at the same time, he knew that she would never feel like this for him. After all, she was a master, he was monster that no one wanted to be around nor wanted to accept._

 _Before he knew it, the masters bowed to everyone in the village, and started to make their way back up to The Crimson Palace. Naruto, just stared at where they once stood before he looked up at his father. "Dad, what are they to do with the village? Why were they introduced to us?"_

 _"They are our protectors Naruto. You just gotta remember, protection is what makes the true warriors who they are. Is the drive to protect." Iruka said with a smile on his face before he and his son started to walk away to finish their errands._

Groaning softly, Naruto opened his eyes and blinked a little as he looked around, seeing that he was back in his room. Taking another look, he noticed that he was alone. "Damn, I missed her leaving…" Naruto moaned before covering his face with his left arm. Of all the things that he had a chance, it was to try to get to know Hinata… and he blew it. Letting out a sigh, Naruto pushed himself up onto his feet, noticing that his ribs didn't hurt as much though, that was hard to say if it was due to him healing on his own, or if it was Hinata's doing.

Soon, the door opened, causing Naruto to look over and see his dad coming in. "Oh Naruto! You're awake! Dear god I was so worried about you!" Iruka said before rushing toward his son and pulled him into a hug. "Good god, you had me worried Naruto. I know you can heal quickly but still… I'm just so sorry I didn't hear you sooner!"

Naruto looked up at his father before saying "dad, don't worry. You had a lot of customers to worry about. Don't worry…" Iruka pulled back and frowned a little, he looked at his son and was about to say something until Naruto cut him off. "Dad, you worry far too much. I'm twenty five years old. You shouldn't have to worry so much. People are going to hate me regardless. It doesn't matter what I do, no one will accept me dad. I cannot even prevent myself from getting hurt here in the restaurant…"

Iruka sighed softly before running a hand through his spiky ponytail. He knew that his son was right. No one accepted him, no matter where he went everyone just wouldn't accept him because he was a demon. But, his son was still happy, because he had his father around, and that was the only thing that mattered to him.

Naruto just had a big grin on his face as he asked "so when did Master Hinata leave?" Iruka just stared at him for a moment, as if trying to think on when it was that the young woman left. It seemed like Iruka was having some trouble remembering until it seemed like it had finally returned to his father's memory.

"Ah yes, she left a little over an hour ago. She had healed your ribs or at least shifted them to heal properly. I want you to bring this though to her as a 'thank you' for helping you Naruto." Iruka said before holding out a package and smiled. To be honest, the thought of bringing something to Hinata was a dream come true. He could possibly have a real conversation with her! Oh good god the idea of talking with her got his heart pounding and red started to blossom onto his cheeks. "I know you want to talk to her son." Iruka said with a chuckle before ruffling his son's spiky blonde locks.

"Dad!" groaned Naruto before he took the package from his dad then looked up at his dad for another moment. "Um… what did she say though dad?"

"Nothing much, only that you should take it easy. Oh, I have one other thing for you to deliver son. This package I was supposed to send to The Crimson Palace but forgot to. Can you send it for me?" Iruka said while holding out another package. Yup, it was official, he was the delivery boy for his father. Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto accepted the other package from his father and started to make his way out of the restaurant.

He hoped that nothing came to bother him with him holding two packages and all, but then again, he could at least dodge people a hell of a lot better in the village than at the store.

The only thing that bothered him about all of this, was that he never had a real conversation with Hinata. The only time she ever came into the village was when she had to do some errands for the palace when their usual person couldn't do it. It was rare for her to be in the village, and no one ever really talk to her from what he's seen anyway. Hinata normally kept to herself for some reason, not ever really getting involved unless it was important, such as what had happened to him.

Frowning at him, he wondered if Hinata knew about him. Or, maybe she didn't know about him, because she spent most of her life up in the palace? There was no real way of knowing what it was that went on up there, since he wasn't a student there. Not like he could learn how to really fight in the first place. He was a klutz, and not able to keep his balance if someone shoved him or even gave a light push. Not to mention, he had no real self-control over his strength when he lost his temper.

Looking ahead, he saw those guys again and glared. He would have to get around, there was no way that he was going to get involved with a fight against them. Looking around, he saw a way for him to get through the village without having to deal with them today. Or at the very least, not to deal with them again.

Running into the alley, he made sure that no one was around, he hated to do this, but knew that he couldn't let anyone see him doing this. Transforming, Naruto changed into his humanoid fox form. Using his tails to hold onto the packages, Naruto started to climb up the wall with his claws. This was something that he would do here and there if he wanted to avoid people, or at least to avoid getting his ass handed to him. He knew that it was risky to keep transforming in public like this, but at least this way, he could be himself and not have to worry about anything. He would transform back before he got to the thousand steps. At least that was something he could do without anyone bothering him. Not a lot of people go to the stairs.

Running along the rooftops, jumping from roof to roof, Naruto ran as fast as his legs would carry him. For others they would see nothing more than an orange blur. He couldn't help but wonder, what would it be like if he was in a village of others demons. Sometimes, he would dream of a world such as that, an entire village filled with other fox demons. It was a dream that would always elude him, because there was after all no such thing.

Grabbing onto a pole, Naruto flipped up onto it, landing on his feet as he took a gaze around. _'_ _Hm… which way…?'_ thought the fox demon as he took a look around. His blue eyes turned crimson, his pupils narrowing into slits as he tried to get a better view of what he should see. Multiple paths that could be short cuts to ones that would take him a little longer to arrive at the base of the steps.

Soon, his gaze fell at the base of the stairs, causing him to smirk. "There it is." He chuckled to himself before his returned to being the ocean blue and his pupils returning to normal. Sometimes having demonic abilities came in handy though he couldn't be sure what good they could be when people were afraid of him. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man jumped from the pole before he rolled onto a nearby roof top then made a break for it.

Running quickly, Naruto looked up at the palace once again, wondering what it would be like to live up there. It had to be wonderful, to be amazing. He wanted more in his life than to just make noodles all the time. He wanted to have adventures, to see new places and of course, to help those in need. But, would they even allow that in the first place? After all, he wasn't human, what would the point be in letting a human, no a demon, who could possibly be corrupted by his own chakra by the sheer power of it be allowed to harness it in the first place?

Shaking his head, the young man made his way to the stairs, quickly changing back to normal and started to climb. He had never walked up the thousand steps before, but knew that it would be a workout for him. Yawning softly, the young man checked the packages, happy that he was able to catch them when his tails disappeared.

Letting out a soft yawn, Naruto placed a hand over his chest, where his ribs had been broken. It amazed him that Hinata was the one to tend to his broken bones. How he wished that he had been awake for that moment. But knew, that it wouldn't have worked that way because his dad had learned how to use chakra to a certain point, though he wasn't a master of it. Just like how he had learned pressure points to help him relax when he was injured by those assholes in the village that thought it would make them heroes to beat up a demon.

Oh how he wished that he could have spoken to her. Stopping at the middle of the stairs, Naruto cursed himself. "Damn it, all the times I meet Master Hinata and it had to be while I'm getting my ass handed to me! I must have looked so pathetic to her at that time!" He groaned a little before turning around and took a seat on the stairs for a moment. "How is it that… I could have fucked up so badly in the first place? I could have proven myself to be a worthy man and ugh! I fucked up!" Shaking his head, the young man pushed himself up onto his feet and started to walk up the stairs once again.

Once he was done at the palace, he was going to head home and go to bed. Damn, he was only half way up the stairs and he was already tired. How was it that he could get so tired in the first place? It didn't make sense to him in the first place, though he knew that there was no way that he would do this again. No freaking way.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto had managed to get to the top of the stairs and yawned softly before he knocked on the large doors. The doors were large and red as crimson. Must have been one of the reasons for the name of the palace. Shrugging to himself, the young man knocked once again, and at that point, that was when he saw the doors start to move. Gulping a little, the young man took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down. This was after all, a place of training.

A man walked out, wearing a black shirt with matching black pants and a simple green vest. He had silvery grey hair that defied gravity and wore a headband that covered his left eye and a mask that covered half of his face from the nose down. Blinking a little, Naruto said "I have two packages to deliver. One is for Master Hinata as a thank you for helping me. Another was left at my father's shop."

"Ah yes, Hinata mentioned that she helped a young man after getting some broken ribs." The man said with a smile before accepting the packages. Though he stared at Naruto for a moment before asking "you know young man, you are rather different compared to others here. I don't think I see many people with two toned hair."

Naruto had no idea to take that as an insult or a compliment. Looking up at the man, the young man couldn't help but stare at the man with confusion. He felt like he had seen him before… Where was this guy from? Where had he seen him before? He had no idea and it confused him a great deal but, it almost felt like it was in the back of his mind like a long forgotten memory. "Um… sir, have I seen you?"

"Nope, I had just returned not long ago into the village. I have been gone on a long journey young man. May I ask you your name? I am Master Kakashi." Said the older man with a smile that was still hidden in his mask.

Naruto gulped a little as he said "I'm Naruto… um… Master, I hope this doesn't sound rude but, are you going to pay me for delivering the one package?" He hoped that he wouldn't get hit in the face but if this guy said that he had only returned a few days ago, then there was no way that he could have known about what he was, but he didn't want to risk that as of yet. Before he knew what was going on, Kakashi just chuckled a little at the blonde and crimson haired young man.

"I have something else in mind. I don't know how to pay you for such a package Naruto, but I think I got something better. Something that only a selected people may have." With that, Kakashi pulled out a ticket from his pocket and handed it to the young man. "There is a tournament coming in a few days' time, I want you to come and you can bring someone with you if you want. I hope to see you there young man because we are going to be choosing our chosen warrior at long last." With that, the door closed, causing Naruto to stare in with wide eyes. They were finally going to choose their warrior, he had heard that they had waited for thousands of years for this moment, and now… it was the moment of truth!

"The choosing of… the Furious Fox?! Awesome!"


	3. What!

It had been a few days since he had his ribs broken. Though to be honest, Naruto was happy that had happened because he would be able to go and see the choosing of the Furious Fox. It was an honor that anyone would love to have, being known as the greatest warrior of all time? That would be awesome, and now he would be able to witness the whole thing. The whole town was bustling to get to the palace so they could see the warrior be chosen.

So of course, the shop was not going to have anyone come in since the whole village was going to be there. Though, the hard part was to get his father to go with him to the tournament. That was the only thing that the young man wanted, was to have a bonding moment with his dad since they were normally always working.

Walking over to his father, he asked "so dad, I was giving this pass to go to the tournament to see the choosing of the Furious Fox and… wanted to know if you wanted to come with me. I'm allowed to have someone come with me on the pass." He just grinned at his father, hoping that Iruka would want to come with him. Iruka almost never left the store, at least not very often anyway. It had almost seemed like he never wanted to go anywhere, for what reason, he had no idea.

Iruka frowned for a moment, as if thinking about he should go or not. Naruto knew that his father wasn't one for fighting, though also knew, that Naruto himself wasn't going to go to fight, just to watch. So what could the harm be anyway? None what so ever, and that just made things all the easier to choose. In fact, Naruto almost wanted to chuckle as he saw his dad finally show an answer within his eyes. "Alright son, let's get something to help us stay warm. It gets cold this time of year."

Naruto couldn't help but grin at the thought that his father would go with him. It would be an amazing father-son-bonding experience. He ran back inside and went down in the basement as he started to go through some of the boxes that held their winter clothes. Or at least the box that contained a mixture of their fall and winter clothes. Once he found the box, the young man opened it and pulled out two ponchos. Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto slipped on his orange poncho before making his way back up the stairs and toward his father. "Here dad, I found yours." He said handing Iruka the blue and black poncho.

"Ready to go son?" Iruka asked while he was slipping on his poncho. Naruto was excited, he couldn't help but bounce on the balls of his feet hoping that they could go already. After all, it was a long way up the mountain.

"Yeah, I'm ready when you are dad." Answered Naruto with a big grin on his face. He was looking forward to this, and hoped that it would be an exciting one. Chuckling to himself, the young man walked with his father out of the shop and toward the thousand stairs toward the palace.

As they walked, the young man couldn't help but wonder, who would end up being the warrior. Looking up into the sky with a soft smile on his face, he figured that it would be Hinata. She was a powerful warrior, she had amazing skills and talents. She would have been the perfect choice to be the Furious Fox. Letting out a soft dreamy sigh, a soft blush was on his face as he thought about her. Beautiful blue hair…

"Thinking about someone son?" asked Iruka with a chuckle. Which of course caused Naruto to blush a little. How was it that his father could read him like a book? Naruto looked away, just wanting to remove the pink from his cheeks though he knew that he wouldn't be able to do that, or at least not right away. "Naruto, are you still thinking about Master Hinata? After all, you've only really met her twice… Haven't you out grown that crush of yours?"

Naruto blushed a little more before he looked down. "I don't believe so dad but, I can't help it. She's an amazing warrior and she was so nice to help me the other day." No matter what he couldn't help but think back to it. After all, it was something that he had wished he had been awake for the whole time. Sadly, he had been knocked out so she could heal his ribs or at the very least, repair his rips. Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked up at his father saying "besides dad, I don't think she'll like me anyway. After all, she's a highly classed warrior, I'm a lowly noodle guy."

"Don't sell yourself short Naruto. Any girl would be lucky to have you in their lives." Iruka said with a big smile on his face.

Too bad no one else thought that, to be honest, Naruto thought that he would spend his very long life alone, spending all his time traveling from village to village, hoping that he could start fresh every time he moved he could have a normal life… until people would start to think he is too young to be the age he is. He knew that demons had a much longer life-span than humans, and he knew that someday, he would out live his father and that scared him to no end. Taking a deep breath, Naruto calmly said "I don't think any woman would want to be with me dad, after all who wants to be with someone who can out live you?"

Iruka stared at Naruto for a moment before giving him a soft smile. "Son, it isn't about the amount of time you have with someone, it's how special the time was."

Naruto thought about that, maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't. To be honest, he had no idea if that was the case. The only thing he knew, was that no one would ever want to be with him because… ' _They're all just afraid of me…'_ thought the young man before letting out a soft sigh.

* * *

Yawning softly, Naruto and his father were able to get front row seats, it made him wonder what it was that they were going to see. Who was going to fight, and against who? It was so exciting, though what made it more exciting. Looking around, the young man couldn't help but notice how many people were here, so many people from the village, maybe all of them? He had no idea, though what he did know was that this was going to be exciting.

Turning to his father, Naruto saw that Iruka seemed just as excited. Just leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest, and a smile on his face. Grinning brightly, Naruto turned back to the arena, it was huge, that was for sure, it could easily fit four or six people fighting and no one would get in the way. That was rather interesting for sure. The benches were already filled, though Naruto could easily sense people staring at him, all of them staring at him with nothing but hate and fear.

 _'Why don't they get it that I don't want to hurt them?'_ thought Naruto with a sigh, only to shake his head. No, he wasn't going to let them ruin this day for him, he was going to make sure that he enjoyed everything about this day. Nothing, and he means nothing was going to ruin this for him, after all, it wasn't every day that you got invited to the palace just for bringing them their mail for them.

Soon, someone started to walk out into the arena. It was the silver haired man that gave him the invitation! He walked out to the middle of the arena, his only visible eye closed as if he was smiling or at least giving some kind of eye smile. He had no idea to be honest.

"Welcome everyone, today is truly a wonderful day for a tournament." Everyone cheered though a few whispered as if wondering who the man was. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Master Kakashi of Thunder and Lightning!" As soon as he had said that, Naruto stared with wide eyes. No way, it was THE Master Kakashi? He heard some stories about the man, he was the only known master of thunder and lightning, he was once with the grand council but was born and raised in Konoha. He had disappeared at least maybe almost thirty years ago and now he's returned… but why?

Kakashi chuckled a little as he held up his hand, hoping to calm down the crowd as they started to murmur to themselves. "Listen up everyone, right now as we speak, Grandmaster Hiruzen is preparing the five masters who, may be the chosen warrior, who shall receive the title of 'Furious Fox' the hero that is said to save the world from a new evil." That had gotten everyone curious. What evil could he be talking about? After all, there has never been a 'great' evil though, soon Naruto felt everyone's stares on him. Did they really think he was evil to want to attack everyone? Come on…

"As you all know, we have been waiting for thousands of years for the warrior to be chosen. Each and every grandmaster has been trained to be able to choose the warrior. Now, it is the moment of truth everyone, or at the very least, it shall be soon. While we wait, we shall have an exhibition match. One of our masters, shall fight someone in the audience." Kakashi said with a smile that could be seen through his mask. To be honest, Naruto was rather curious as to who it was that they were going to fight. Or, who was going to be fighting the master. Chuckling softly, the young man leaned back as he wondered who it was that was going to be fighting and whom they would fight.

Inhaling softly, Kakashi turned to his left and waved his hand toward a tightly clad man in green. He had a bowl hair style, and bushy eyebrows that would make anyone wonder, how the hell he could see with his eyebrows being so thick. The man wore a simple cloth belt, and what looked like orange leg warmers and blue sandals with his toes open out to the air around them. Kakashi spoke to the man, though it was too quiet for them to hear what it was that they were saying. Even Naruto's keen hearing couldn't pick up what it was that they were saying. Maybe it was due to all the people whispering to themselves.

The man with the bowl hair cut nodded his head before standing next to Kakashi, his arms crossed before he gave everyone a thumbs up and a big smile on his face that almost seemed to sparkle in the dim sunlight. How was that even possible, he had no idea. "Alright everyone, Master Gai, the master of Strength-"

"And _the Power of Youth!"_ shouted Gai, causing Kakashi to smack his forehead.

Now that he thought about it, Naruto had heard a lot of people slap their foreheads. How was it that everyone was slapping their foreheads, have they heard of Gai, unlike him? Maybe, it would make sense to him, but who was he to judge. Shaking his head, the young man listened to what more it was that Kakashi was going to say about Gai. "Now, as I was saying, Gai, is going to be the master that any one of you will be fighting. I hope that the fight will be enjoyable, though because not a lot of people know how to fight, I have ordered Gai to take it easy on you all."

"The power of Youth shall prevail!" shouted Gai, again, causing everyone to slap their foreheads. Naruto just let out a soft sigh before he leaned back against his seat, wondering who will be chosen.

"Okay everyone, those who had received a special invitation, look at your cards and you shall see a number. The number that is called, shall fight Master Gai." With that, Kakashi pulled out a card from his pocket and looked over the number, Naruto tilted his head, wondering… waiting… "Number ten, you will be fighting Master Gai." Naruto heard many people groaning, did they want to fight him? Shrugging, he checked his card and stared in shock, the only words that escaped him were these…

"Holy shit!"

Naruto felt everyone staring at him, both with surprise and of course hate once more. Why couldn't they give him a break from their glares? Can't there be one day where he doesn't have to deal with their glares? Not one single day? That was just cruel, and he had to pay for it. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man pushed himself up onto his feet before he pulled off his poncho and set it down. Only for Iruka to grab his hand saying "Naruto, you don't have to do this… please, you don't have to fight."

"Don't worry dad, I can handle this. You know how strong I am." Naruto said with a small smile. He knew that he could still feel pain but at least he could allow himself to dull it enough so he wouldn't have to deal with any of the pain that would be coursing through his entire being.

Gulping a little, Naruto tried to get himself to relax, he knew that this was going to be difficult since he didn't really know how to fight, but knew that this was going to happen. He wasn't going to be called a coward along with being called a monster. Looking up, he stared at Gai as he just gave him a calm stare, it seemed that the older man was trying to think on what it was that he would face while fighting the young man.

Breathing deeply, Naruto calmly said "I hope we have a good fight Master Gai." He tried to smile, though really he looked a little scared. Yet, he knew that he would have to be prepared for anything that was going to happen to him. No matter how much pain that went through his body.

"Fighters ready?!" shouted Kakashi, before he looked between the two fighters, only to add "fight!"

Naruto looked over at Gai, watching as the master rushed at the young man with such speed. He had no idea how Gai was able to move so fast, though he had an idea that he must have had a lot of practice. Yet, what came next, Naruto should have seen coming, because he was punched in the face. It caused the young man to fly back a little, he flipped onto his back before slowly pushing himself up onto his feet and rubbed his face. "Ow…" He groaned a little, looking up he saw Gai rushing toward him, and slammed his foot into the young man's stomach, Naruto let out a loud gasp of pain as he felt the wind knocked out of his lungs.

"Gah!" he shouted, Gai jumped back as Naruto rolled onto his side, trying to catch his breath. How was it that this was taking it easy on him?

"Yeah Master Gai! You get that monster!" shouted someone from the crowd. Naruto just wanted to sigh, though he was trying to get himself to relax, tried to get his breathing in order though, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do even that.

Naruto spat out against the ground as he managed to push himself up onto his feet, trying to get himself to stand upright once again. Gai hadn't rushed for him, so it seemed that he at least had some honour for the man though, he couldn't be sure but he was going to find out. Getting up onto his feet, the young man calmly said "that all… you got…?" He wheezed out.

"You are not worthy of your youth! You're weak, you are not a true holder of the fiery passion of youth!" shouted Gai before he rushed toward Naruto, the only thing Naruto knew was that this wasn't going to be fun. Then again, when was ever getting your ass kicked fun? He had no idea, nor did he ever believe that it would ever be fun for him.

"Bring it!" shouted Naruto before he watched Gai rushed toward him. The young fox demon knew that he was going to have to be prepared for the pain that was going to get to him. Narrowing his eyes, the young man went to punch Gai, only for Naruto to yelp and cry out in pain as Gai punched and kicked at Naruto. The young fox demon took hit after hit, it was something that made no sense to the young man, though he knew that he was a lot stronger than people thought. The only thing that he knew, was that it pained him a great deal to have to endure all of the hits.

In fact, it almost seemed like Gai's hits were getting stronger and stronger. How this was even possible, he didn't know. Naruto had a swollen eye, his face had some bruises on him. Though he knew that this was only going to get worse. Falling onto his knees, he coughed up a little bit of blood, he was getting beat quicker than he was healing. "May the power of youth forgive you." Said Gai before kicking Naruto up into the air.

Naruto screamed out in pain as he went flying through the air. He wanted this to be different, he wanted to have been able to fight back but damn it, he couldn't react quickly enough. He hadn't been this sore since that one time he got his ass handed to him as a child. Before he knew what was happening, he fell through the roof of the palace and landed hard on the ground, causing him to groan in pain.

"Hey, you okay?" asked a female's voice. Causing Naruto to groan a little more before he opened his eyes and looked up, staring right into the lavender gaze of the woman of his dreams. Master Hinata. "How did you fall through the roof and not get into worse shape?" She asked with a frown on her face.

"Hinata, who is that?" came an older man's voice, causing Naruto to look up a little more. Standing there was an old man, short white hair with a small beard that only went to his chin. His eyes were kind but held much wisdom. Naruto knew right then and there, that it was the Grandmaster Hiruzen. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Naruto nodded as he pushed himself up, taking a deep breath. The pain was surging through his body but he knew that this was going to last for a little while. "I'm sorry, I'll be on my way, I'm fighting Master Gai…" Bowing to the masters, the young man walked out of the palace and made his way back to the arena. There was no way that this man was going to get away with the beating that he got. Nope, Naruto was going to have to bring up his A game, before this went way out of hand and of course, before he ended up having one of his black outs.

He couldn't risk that again. It still haunted him when he blacked out last time, the kids were badly hurt and of course scarred for life because of what had happened. Closing his eyes for a moment, Naruto started to make his way over to the arena. He could hear the many people cheering how Master Gai had defeated the 'monster' even though he was still up on his feet and making his way back over to them. Nope, he wasn't going to go down that easily. Never, he was going to show to them, prove to them all that he wasn't a pushover, not anymore. Naruto wasn't going to be known as the 'weak' demon, not ever again!

Growling, he made his way back to the arena as he said "I hope you had fun Master Gai, because I'm not going to hold back… I'm not going to be your personal punching bag, not again."

Gai turned to stare at Naruto, and started to take notice of some changes. Mostly his demeanour. Naruto glared, his fangs and claws grew as did his demonic aura. The whisker marks on his face started to become thicker as his pupils turned into slits. The young man was no longer playing around. He was in it, to win it this time. Growling, the young fox rushed forward with a speed that rivaled Gai's. Gai almost didn't see it coming, but Naruto kicked him in the side, sending the green clad man into a wall.

Everyone stared in shock and awe, never knowing that Naruto could have this much strength in him before. Naruto narrowed his blue eyes at Gai before he built up more of his demonic aura, as if hoping that he would be able to take him down. Though, a thought ran through his mind, and it scared him yet thrilled him at the same time. It was telling him to kill Gai, though he squished those thoughts… sorta. Naruto made his way over to the man, ready to dig his claws into his flesh.

Growling along the way, Naruto felt his power increasing, and growing as he felt the desire to kill course through his very body. Picking up the man by his shirt, Naruto said "enjoy your last day…" He held up his hand, it glowed with red chakra as he prepared to finish him off, only to see in the crowd his father staring at him with a great deal of fear and concern. The thought of his father staring at him like that, it broke his heart.

Why was he doing this?

Just because people were scared and hated him?

Because he was getting the snot beaten out of him?

No, he wasn't going to be the monster that they all thought he was. Never, he couldn't and wouldn't allow that to happen to him. The chakra disappeared from his fist, and he settled for a simple punch that just knocked Gai onto his back. Letting out a soft sigh, he said "I win…" Then he started to make his way back over toward his father… only for a voice to stop him.

"It's him…"

Turning to the entrance of the palace, stood Grandmaster Hiruzen, alongside the other masters. What were they doing? Who were they talking about? Tilting his head to the side, Naruto looked around, wondering who it was that they were staring at right now, though nothing came to mind. Turning back to the older man, Naruto asked "who are you talking about? Who's him?"

"You… you are the warrior we've been waiting for. You, are the Furious Fox…"

At that point, everyone, including Naruto and his father, all screamed out one thing, and one thing only.

 _"What?!"_


	4. Friend?

Naruto could only stare at the older man as he stared at him. His black eyes held wisdom and positivity that what he said, was true. "Grandmaster Hiruzen, you must be mistaken, my son and I are only noodle folk. How could he be the Furious Fox?" Asked Iruka as he made his way over to his son. Naruto turned to his father, knowing that he was worried about the blackouts more than anything. If Naruto ended up being a warrior, his life would be in danger, and therefore, he would black out more often and could end up killing someone, if not worse, one of the five would be one of the victims.

Hiruzen turned to the brown haired man as he said "I am clearly not mistaken sir. I am never wrong, your son, is the warrior of legend, the warrior of the great prophecy." That had both Naruto and his father confused, why would he, Naruto, be the chosen warrior? It just didn't make sense, after all, there had to be better fighters than himself.

"But sir, I just can't be a warrior. I have… problems that happen when I'm in danger." Naruto said, hoping that would be enough to get them to reconsider their choice. Even though he did want to be a great warrior, his fear of what would happen held him back. The fight back in the shop, that was just to protect his father, not to mention the bandits were nothing compared to his strength. Even then, he held back because he was afraid of using his full strength on humans.

"Any problems that you may have young man, it can be solved through meditation. But there is still no doubt about who you are. You can use chakra, not just anyone can use it without losing control over themselves." Calmly said Hiruzen with a small yet kind smile.

"It's true, you have a great amount of chakra that only a true master would ever possess. You must learn how to fight with us." Came a woman's voice, causing Naruto to turn, staring at the blue haired woman who had captured his heart so long ago. Gulping, his face went a little pink as she walked over to the young man. Her pale lavender coloured eyes captured him, held him in place as she gave him a kind smile and her eyes filled with no hate, no fear, just pure happiness and joy. "Please, you must join us. You could learn to harness that chakra for good!"

Dear lord, if he could he would have said 'where do I sign up?' but knew, that he couldn't risk it. The risk was still far too great for his liking. He could lose control, he could black out and hurt someone again. Not to mention, there would be the risk of them finding out that he was a fox demon. _'Huh… that's sort of ironic.'_ thought Naruto before shaking his head and stared at the grandmaster, and Hinata. "I'm sorry, but… I still say you have the wrong man. I'm just a noodle man, I work with my dad and not to mention, I'm a klutz."

"That, I find hard to believe." Came Kakashi's voice, as he walked over to the blonde and crimson haired young man. Naruto just frowned at him, wondering what it was that he meant by that. He was a klutz that was obvious. He would trip on the smallest of things if he wasn't being careful… Just last week, he tripped on a root that had broken through the stone at the shop and spilled soup all over himself. Even yesterday, he lost his balance and fell over on his side. It was mostly due to him having to hide his tails so he would look human but without his tails, he lost a great deal of his balance though had at least learned a bit to live with it for the time being.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto with a frown.

Kakashi just chuckled a little before he patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I was by the shop when those bandits came, I was going to go in and fight them off but… you handled them with some skill." He stared at Naruto with his only visible eye as he added "you may say you're a klutz, but you do have talent that needs to be nurture and you are to be trained at once. Do not worry, you will be taught the early stages of control before we do some serious training." Kakashi answered with kindness before he flicked his wrist, causing some of the guards to grab Naruto and drag him toward the palace.

"Hey! Stop it! I'm not the Furious Fox damn it!" shouted Naruto.

"Can't believe that monster was chosen… If he learns how to fight, he'll kill us all…" said one of the men in the crowd, causing Iruka to stare at them. Naruto knew that his father hated it when people called him a monster, though what had surprised him, was the amount of chakra that flared from Kakashi. Kakashi's chakra seemed like he was angered by everyone's words. Their hate, their fear, it only fueled the man's hate as he called out to the crowd.

"That is enough. No one is allowed to call him a monster, if I hear anyone call him that then you shall answer the palace. He is the Furious Fox, and he is meant to save the village." With that, Kakashi and Hiruzen started to walk away, along with the other masters toward the palace. Though before Kakashi left, he stared at Iruka saying "do not worry, I will look out for your son. You have done all you need to raise him, now… let me do what I must do." With that, the grey haired man made toward the palace, leaving a very confused Iruka behind, making the brown haired man wonder if his son would be alright, he prayed to the gods that his only son would be alright… and that no one lost their lives because of his blackouts…

* * *

Kakashi made his way over to Hiruzen who sat by the Sacred Peach Tree, he knew that this was where the master went to help clear his mind. There was no doubt, that Naruto was the chosen warrior of the great prophecy though, Kakashi had no idea what was even written for it. Only the grandmaster would know of it, and he may only tell who he deems worthy of the knowledge. "Grandmaster, what will happen? Naruto had only been in the palace for a few hours and he refuses to leave his room. He won't learn…"

"That is to be expected, in a way we had forcibly removed him from his home and taken him away from his father and only known family member." Hiruzen said with a soft sigh before he turned to the grey haired man. "Kakashi, answer me this. How did you know that he would have been the chosen warrior, before I met him?" Kakashi knew that this was going to happen. It was something that he never really spoke to him about, though Kakashi knew, what it was that had to happen in the future but couldn't share that yet, not yet… but he could share something.

Inhaling deeply, Kakashi went on with how he knew. "I had just returned to the village, I was in my old house packing up some of my things that I had left there." Closing his eyes for a moment, he was trying to think on how to say his next few words. Inhaling softly, the grey haired man went on. "Naruto was dropping off a package for me, I stayed in the shadows not sure who he was, but it was something that I had kept hidden from even myself for a long time, and had it mailed to the village so it would be here when I returned. When I met him, I just saw something… special about him. I know he is meant for many great things and just had to report it back to you master."

Hiruzen just stared at Kakashi for a moment. The master of thunder couldn't stare at his master, thinking that he would know that he had something more to his story, more to it that he was not ready to share as of yet. It would stay with him for as long as he could until the time was right.

"Alright Kakashi… I shall take your word for now but I hope someday, you tell the boy at the very least about what it is that you are hiding from him."

"Wait, how did you?"

"I am a grandmaster Kakashi, I know you're hiding something by your chakra." Chuckled Hiruzen before turning away and looking back up at the sky.

"Sir… may I ask… what is the prophecy?" asked Kakashi.

The grandmaster seemed silent, it almost seemed like he would not answer Kakashi's question. In fact, the young man was about to leave, thinking that he wouldn't be answered. Letting out a soft sigh, Kakashi started to walk away, until Hiruzen's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

 _A human once thought to be a hero. It later becomes a monster.  
The people thought that it had a heart colder than sub-zero. The people fear that it was just an imposter.  
A human thought to be a monster, and becomes a hero.  
After seeing how the people could prosper, the once thought monster is no longer a zero.  
The monster, who was thought to be evil.  
It turns out the monster is one with a soul not a devil.  
It has a heart so pure, that he would defeat the once great hero.  
To have such pureness in order to cure, one must be as pure as shiro.  
But, his heart is at risk of turning to darkness  
As it continues to live in fear and hate, it will eventually become heartless.  
If it does not feel any love or compassion then it will surely meet its fate, hopefully one will hear the  
monster's plight.  
It shall fall into darkness and destroy the world or it may save it with light._

Kakashi frowned a little as he listened to what it was that the grandmaster had said to him. It almost sounded like that there was a good chance that Naruto could end up destroying the world if he wasn't shown some kind of… light? He had no idea, but he feared for the young man's safety. He would have to make sure that Jiraiya didn't do something that would put the boy in danger if this went too far.

Bowing to the grandmaster, Kakashi calmly said "do not worry master, I will make sure that Naruto saves the world, after all, there is still the chance that he will end up saving the world instead of destroying it right?" TO be honest, he was a little scared that Naruto would end up destroying the world, in fact, he had no idea what would cause him to even go that far to the darkness. Because of fear? What could that mean? What fear would be powerful enough to make him go to darkness? Well, he figured that there would be a way to find out when the time was right.

For now though, he would just have to set up the training for Naruto. After all, the young man had a long ways to go before the time came that the world would need him. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too soon. If it was too soon, then there would be no hope for anyone, for the village, or for Naruto. Kakashi closed his eyes for a brief moment before he started to make his way back into the palace, right now was a time for sleep, today had been a long day that was for sure.

* * *

Naruto laid in his room, not thinking that he could ever be here in a million years. Though, he knew that he would ever be here, let alone be chosen as the Furious Fox. That was something that had surprised him, but still… he had just been taken away from his father, his shop, his life; everything that he had ever known. It scared him that he would never have that life again. Letting out a soft yet sad sigh, the young man rolled over on his futon, it wasn't much of a bed, though he knew that he had to do something. Anything really to get his mind off of all of these troubles that had entered his life.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man pushed himself to sit up before he looked out the window in his room. It was dark out, maybe a nice walk out in the moonlight will clear his mind of all his troubles. At least he should be the only one outside, everyone from what he could hear, and everyone's soft breathing told him that they were sound asleep... Taking a deep breath, the young man started to walk out of his room and started to make his way down the hall.

To be honest, the young man didn't really know what more there was here though he hoped that there would be something interesting to do when he wouldn't be forced to train. Yawning against the back of his hand, the young man made his way out of the palace and sniffed the air. He could smell… fresh water nearby. He could use a drink so that would be promising for him. Chuckling, he made his way toward the scent, just hoping that there was even a place for him to relax.

He never understood why, but the waterfalls or at least the sound of them and the mist that they produced, it always helped to calm him down. At least, not as much as ramen. "I'll have to find a way to get some ramen…" He said to himself before he started to power walk over to the waterfall, yet what he saw made him stare in awe.

He stared at a figure that was hidden by the shadows. The light of the full moon only outlining the figure as they moved with the waterfall. From what he could make out, the person was a woman. After all, no man has breasts. Well, at least not the skinny ones. Face turning a slight pink, the young man just stared. The figure would jump in the air, moving her hands, and feet like she was dancing. Her movements, they were so graceful, and flowed like an ever flowing river.

He almost seemed like he was being hypnotised by her. Everything she did, it just seemed so perfect. The water would spray around her, droplets of water would cling to her, fly around her as she moved. Twirling around, she sliced the water her hand, or even jabbed them with her fingertips.

Trying to get himself to breathe, Naruto wanted to walk toward the mystery woman. But, at the same time he didn't want to get closer to her. Thinking that if he did, that he would interrupt her and get himself beaten up. Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man went back to watching the show. She jumped in the air, flipping in the air and land on a rock that resided on the water. She kept her balance perfectly. Her long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, maybe to keep her hair from clinging to her face.

Tilting his head, he took a step forward, wanting to see who it was, wanting to see just who this mystery woman was. Because, for some reason she seems familiar to him. How it was, he had no idea, though he just hoped that he figured out who it was before he got his ass handed to him.

Soon, the moon's light soon reached the woman, her figure coming into full view. It was then, that he saw who it was. To be honest, it had surprised him because, he had thought that everyone was asleep. Why would she of all people be outside, when everyone honestly was supposed to be sleeping right now!? "Hinata?!" He shouted, only to cover his mouth, hoping that he hadn't just given himself away.

"Who's there?" came her voice, causing her to turn towards the scared man. She walked toward Naruto, her body was soaked from her training, and he could make out the water droplets dripping from her body. At least she was fully clothed. His heart beat was increasing, he didn't think that he would have been able to get himself to calm down, his face growing pinker and pinker the closer that the blue haired woman got to him. "Oh, you're… Naruto right?" Hinata said with a smile on her face. It seemed that she didn't notice her she looked… in… her very, very wet clothes…

Naruto nodded as he took a step saying "yeah I'm Naruto, it's nice to- whoa!" He yelped the last part, slipping on the wet grass and crashed into Hinata. Both adults fell on the ground, it wouldn't have bothered Hinata much, not with her already being wet. Though what Naruto didn't know, was that he was now laying on something soft. Groaning, he pushed himself up, grabbing onto the soft yet firm thing wondering what the hell it was… until he heard Hinata's voice.

"Can you… let go of my breast?" she asked in a soft voice.

Naruto looked down and stared at her in shock and looked down at what it was that he was holding and, just like she had said… he was holding her breast. Yelping, Naruto got up as quickly as he could and his face was bright red. "Oh god I'm so very sorry! I wasn't trying to do that! I swear on all that is holy I wasn't trying to do that!" Naruto shouted, his face growing redder and redder. Sure, he couldn't deny it, he liked it that he held something so… big and soft but damn it! He wasn't trying to do that to Hinata! Maybe when he found a wife yeah but _not to Master Hinata of all people!_

"It's okay, the grass is wet." Hinata said with a soft and gentle smile on her face. Naruto looked at her in shock, to be honest he had thought that she was going to beat him, or at least hand him his ass on a silver platter. Yet, it seemed that she wasn't like the other people in the village. He gave a small chuckle before letting out a soft yet sad sigh before he looked away. "How about we talk? You look like you need a friend." Hinata said with a frown on her face. He looked over at her for a moment before nodding. Hinata walked with the young man to a tree, wanting to make him feel a little more comfortable, plus, so they would be able to sit somewhere dry.

Once they sat by a tree, Naruto leaned back as he tried to get himself to relax a little. Breathing a little deeply, the young man turned to Hinata, seeing that she had a kind and gentle smile on her face. "So, tell me what's troubling you Naruto?" Hinata asked softly.

Letting out a soft sigh, he started to say his story. "I'm a klutz… I have slight problems with my balance with my… birth defect." He said, looking away as he did so. The young woman frowned a little as she stared at him, as if wondering what it is that he meant about that since he looked so normal. "I'm worried about what will happen during training. What if I'm close to getting killed? I black out and when that happens, I… I turn into a monster." He pulled his knees to his face as he tried to hide. Hide from all of his troubles, hide all the pain that went through his heart when he thought about it.

"The only person that could ever break me out of that was my father. No one else can, because they all hate me. They hate and fear me because of that and… I don't want to hurt anyone. I want to help them, protect them like what I did for my father at his shop the one day." He bit his lip, feeling the blood slip past his teeth and onto his tongue. He soon felt a hand on his shoulder, causing himself to look over at Hinata who just showed him a kind and caring smile.

"I don't see a monster. I see a caring man. If you were a monster, you would have attacked me."

"But I would have killed Gai… I had lost myself Hinata, if I didn't see my father, saw the fear and concern, I would have killed Gai. I am a monster, I'm not like everyone…"

Hinata pulled Naruto close, he blushed a little, not sure what to think of this… Only that he felt her breasts again and that almost made him have a nose bleed then and there. "Naruto, you just lost control over your chakra. That was what took control over you. Don't worry, you have me to look out for you. If you want, I will try to stop you from those 'black outs' of yours and then you won't hurt anyone." She had a big smile on her face, causing Naruto to blush at her once again. How was it that her words could have helped him to relax already?

"Besides, I know what it's like Naruto. In a way I have two different personalities. The one you see now, is how I normally am, when I'm in a battle, I'm a different person that it's almost scary. So don't worry… We will look out for each other."

Naruto gave her a gentle smile as he said "thank you Hinata, for listening. The only person to know this was my dad." He chuckled a little before looking up at the sky. The young man didn't think that he could ever feel this happy before. Though, he didn't know what more he should expect from here only that, life sure was going to change for him. Closing his eyes, the young man leaned against Hinata for a little while longer before he heard her soft words pull him out of his trance.

"What are friends for Naruto? Now, we should head back inside and get some sleep for training tomorrow." With that, she patted his shoulder before pulling himself back up and giggled a little before she started to make her way back inside. Though, Naruto couldn't help but stare in shock and wonder. Did Hinata really say what he thought that she said? There was no way that he could have heard her right though he had to be sure… Maybe, tomorrow.

Though for now, he was just going to bask in a few things. First of all, he had touched something that he never thought he would ever in his entire life. A soft blush was on his face before he looked back up at the sky with a big goofy grin on his face. _'Hinata is my friend… I… I finally have a friend…'/i_ thought Naruto before he made his way inside.


	5. A Test Of Worth

Naruto couldn't believe that he had become the friend of Master Hinata. It was rather amazing to be honest, though he knew, that he couldn't take it for granted. There was still a way that he would end up ruining what he had, he didn't want to take that risk. But, damn it all, he would do anything to be the best friend that she had ever had in her entire life. There was just so much that he could do with his life, what it was, he had no idea.

Letting out a soft sigh of content, the young man made his way out of his room in the Crimson Palace, and started to make his way over to the grand hall. He had to make sure that he didn't screw up with his meeting with the grandmaster. What was his name again? Oh right, Jiraiya. He was known to have mastered of Toad Art Jutsus. Something that was rare, though he knew that it would be a great honour to have the meeting of a great master like him.

Making his way down the hall, he saw that all of the other master's doors were already open, and they were gone. Must have gone to the training hall. That was something that he had remembered his father telling him that if a master didn't have any special lessons, that they would be in the training hall so they could harness their skill and sharpen their abilities like a sword.

Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man took a deep breath, he could feel his heart beating wildly within his chest. It almost felt like his heart would burst right out of his chest. Placing a shaking hand over it, he tried to get it to calm down and relax. Yet, it just didn't seem like it would listen to his right now. There was no way that he would be able to get it to calm down at all. Opening his eyes, the young man figured that it would be better to just get it done and over with.

Yet, he still felt so nervous and afraid. What if the grandmaster tried to throw him out? What if he was going to get him to try to fight against him? There was no way that he would be able to win a fight against someone like him. After all, he had no official training, there would be no way that he would be able to win and he knew that.

"Maybe I'm just over thinking everything." Naruto said to himself, knowing that he had to stop thinking like this. After all, he had been chosen for a reason. Whatever that reason was, he still didn't have a single clue. But, there was always a reason for something right? After all, his father had kept him for a reason even after almost killing someone all those years ago. So, that had to mean something right?

Smiling a bit, the young man soon found himself outside, seeing that it was a bright and sunny day outside. Maybe it would be a good day after all. No way that anything could ruin this day for him. Nothing would ruin his good mood now! Besides, maybe after his meeting with the grandmaster, he would be able to see Hinata, maybe they could get lunch or something. Chuckling to himself, he started to make his way down the long path from the sleeping quarters and made his way to the grand hall. It was told, at least to him, that it housed all of the great items of masters of the past. Something that had him a little interested in what it would be like to be in a place like that. Yet, he would have to be careful, to him, he still felt like a guest here, not like he really did belong.

Looking at his hand for a moment, Naruto focused his chakra and saw his claws appear before he made it disappear. _'Would they even accept me if they knew the truth about me?'_ he thought to himself before sighing and started to make his way. He was starting to get himself depressed and that was the last thing that he wanted. _'No, I won't be doing this to myself anymore! I have to change, I won't allow my past to control me, I will fight with all my might to make sure that it won't ever happen again. Nothing will control me but me!'_ thought the young man with a smirk on his face.

Nodding to himself, he started to run, using the speed that he normally kept to himself, he wasn't going to allow fate or destiny to make him sink into a deep hole. He would make sure that he pulled himself out of the hole of dispire, and out into the open air of happiness. Nodding once more, the young man started to do a few flips in the air hoping that it would help to loosen him up a little bit. Never know what would happen with his meeting so he may as well be prepared for anything that would come his way.

"Maybe Hinata would be there." He said with a blush on his face. Damn it all, he couldn't help but think of the blue haired woman. She had been his main crush since he was a teen and now, he was so close to her. Not to mention last night was still fresh in his mind. It was something that he felt like would stay within his mind forever. The feel of her chest on his hand, it was so soft yet firm. She was a strong warrior, yet she didn't beat him up. Somehow, he knew that deep down, Hinata was a shy girl that just wanted to be able to defend those around her and herself… and her heart. Maybe, they were alike, more so than he could really believe. Maybe, they could help each other in the end? He would have to find out and he would make sure that he never got her upset.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the main hall. He could hear the breathing from the grandmaster. It was a little nerve wrecking that someone was waiting for him inside though he knew, that he had to go inside. Taking a deep breath, the young man slowly started to make his way inside, looking around at his surroundings. He could see some of the weapons that were used in the past. Staffs, swords, tridents and so on. There were just so many weapons that he never knew who could have owned them in the past.

Taking a gaze around, the young man saw paintings of past warriors, all of them were either past students that had left or had even became the masters of the palace, or even 'Grandmaster' of the palace. Walking along the walls, Naruto came across a man that held a staff that a monk would have held. The man had spiky hair, though he couldn't make out the colour at the time, it was such an old painting that the colour had faded with age and may need to be redone.

"Are you done looking?" asked a voice, causing Naruto to turn around and stare at a tall man. He had long spiky white hair, dark eyes and slightly tanned skin from being outside in the sun for hours at a time yet, not overly tanned. He wore a simple green shirt, pants and red vest. He had a headband on his forehead that had a metal plate. Red lines were down his eyes, almost looking like tears of blood.

The man though looked pissed, like just having Naruto in this room with him, was a sin among the palace itself. Naruto couldn't help but gulp a bit as he slowly made his way over to the master, he had to make sure that he didn't piss him off, after all, he had to stay here for a while, how long that would be, he had no idea. He just hoped that he didn't piss anyone off.

Getting onto his knees, then his hands, Naruto bowed to the man as he said "it is an honour to meet you sir…" Naruto had been taught at an early age, that if he ever met a great master, that he would have to show respect to him in the only manner that he could. It just seemed right for him to be able to show some kind of respect for the man. Yet, Naruto could feel the anger, this hate that seemed to be flowing from the master that was in front of him. It made him want to shake in fear, in worry but he had no idea what he could do.

"You are not meant to be the warrior of legend." Said the master before slamming his foot into Naruto's back, causing the fox demon to let out a gasp of pain before falling onto his stomach. The master moved his foot and walked away before Naruto lifted his head and groaned a little. How was it that this man could have so much hate in his body and Naruto _not_ going into some kind of black out? Oh right, because he wasn't getting the shit beat out of him. At least not yet.

"But… Master Hiruzen…" Naruto whispered out.

"I don't give a damn what he said. He was about to pick Master Hinata and then you crashed into the training hall!" shouted the man before he walked away toward a statue of the mystery man that Naruto had seen in a painting but he couldn't tell who it was yet. Naruto was about to speak, but he couldn't think what it was that he could say to be honest. He had no idea what he could say, what could be said to get the man to get off his back. Yet, he knew that he had to be careful of his words, anything wrong and he could get the shit beat out of him again.

"Master-"

"That's Master Jiraiya!" shouted the master before he went to kick Naruto, though instead Naruto jumped out of the way, landing on his palms before he flipped back onto his feet… then falling onto his rear. Wincing from the pain, Naruto looked up as he stared at the older man as he glared. He was going to burn holes into him at this rate. Gulping, Naruto was about to say something before Jiraiya said something else. "You will never be 'The Furious Fox' and you never shall be! Only the true Furious Fox, can learn this." With that, the man held his hand out, palm facing up as a blue ball of swirling chakra formed as he narrowed is eyes at the blonde man.

Naruto just couldn't help but stare in awe. He had heard of this move before. It was rather amazing, though he couldn't help but feel the energy that just seemed to flow off of the orb that just seemed to swirl within the master's palm. "It's the Rasengan…" Naruto whispered softly, there was only stories of that move.

"So you know of this move?" asked Jiraiya with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, it was said to have been created by a demon, known as the Demon Bomb I think, only few people have learned it but never fully mastered!" Naruto said with awe, he knew that the move had never been mastered, no one had ever fully mastered. It took too much chakra, and even more control. Yet, he could tell that this was a very controlled Rasengan.

"I want you to try to 'prove' that you are the real warrior. I want you to try to master the Rasengan in six months. If you learn it by then, then I will acknowledge that you are The Furious Fox that we have been waiting for all this time." With that, Jiraiya walked away, leaving Naruto on the ground as he said "Kakashi, I know you're there. You can take the boy and leave… NOW!"

Before Naruto could even ask what he was talking about, the grey haired, masked man came out of the shadows and helped Naruto up to his feet before walking with the young man out of the hall. Naruto though was confused about the whole thing… What had just happened?

* * *

Naruto sat down under a tree, trying to process what it was that Jiraiya wanted him to do. He had to learn a move that was nearly impossible to master, in six months. To be honest, Jiraiya looked like he had a good deal of mastery on the move, yet he himself, never fully mastered it. Yet at the same time, he had no true control over it. He could just… feel like it was a struggle for him to even use it. Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man leaned against a tree, just waiting for the Master of Thunder and Lightning to speak to him.

"Naruto… are you alright?" asked Kakashi.

"I'm fine, why are you still standing there? I thought you would have left me alone…" Naruto whispered, not to be rude, but he was rather surprised that he had stayed here. Normally people would have left him alone by now, they would never want anything to do with him and try to maybe even do some harm to him.

Kakashi took a seat next to Naruto and looked up at the sky. It was quiet between the two, the only sound that surrounded them was the sound of the birds chirping. Naruto had thought that maybe, Kakashi wasn't going to speak, that he should just get up from his place under the tree and walk away back to his room… until the master finally spoke to him. "I wanted to make sure that you are alright Naruto. Jiraiya tends to be cruel and harsh to people who he don't trust."

"That is an understatement…" Naruto grumbled under his breath. The way that Jiraiya had treated him was more than just do to distrust. He didn't trust a lot of people but even he didn't hurt anyone unless they had given him a reason to, and even that is rare. Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to think on what he was to do. There was no way that he would be able to master that move in six months. Maybe he wasn't the chosen warrior after all. There was just no way that he would be able to do anything to help people…

Kakashi turned to stare at the blonde and crimson haired young man. Naruto could feel his eyes on him, though he tried to ignore it. It felt odd to have someone else stare at you, he was used to his father's stares of concern, but to have someone else staring at you, it made it seem a little odd and nerve wrecking. "Naruto," Kakashi began, before he said "I believe you can master the Rasengan. You are the chosen warrior for a reason, and I know that you can bring peace to Konoha. You just have to believe in yourself is all."

"How can I believe in myself, when I am nothing but a monster?" asked Naruto before he pushed himself up and glared at Kakashi with so much hate and anger that he never knew he had before. Though, it wasn't directed at him… no, it was directed at himself. Growling, he said "no one ever will accept me as 'The Furious Fox' because of what I am Kakashi. It doesn't matter what you say, no one will ever allow it to be." His eyes flashed red for a moment, he shouted "I'm nothing but a fucking monster Kakashi, why did you even bother allowing Grandmaster Hiruzen to choose me?! Answer me that!"

Kakashi just stared at him, before he pushed himself up onto his feet and placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Naruto glared, as if daring him to say something that would deserve some kind of punch. He wanted to hit something, anything, anything at all that he just wanted to hit something and head on back to his father's shop. He just wanted all of this pent up anger gone, gone before it consumed his very being.

"You remind me so much of him…" whispered Kakashi, causing the young man to look up in confusion. Kakashi stared at him with kindness and nothing even close to fear, hate, or disgust. "Naruto, you were chosen, because Master Hiruzen sensed your heart. He sensed something within you that you could use to protect the people of the village. Nothing could even come close to that feeling, he had made it his dream to find the warrior, as have those before him."

Naruto just stared at him with a frown on his face. Yet, he let the master continue. "Hiruzen just knew that you were meant for great things. You are meant to be a warrior Naruto, I even know that you are meant for great things. You just have to allow people into your heart, and learn to trust not just others, but yourself."

Naruto frowned a little, wondering if he could do it just like that. It didn't make sense to him, but he knew that he had to try to do something. Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man said "how can I? I've been put down for a long time Kakashi…"

Patting his shoulder, Kakashi said "Naruto, think of it this way. If you master the Rasengan, you know that you are worthy of the title, that you have done something that even a master has never been able to do. This move, has not been mastered for a thousand years Naruto. Maybe even longer than that. You have to know, that it is going to be a challenge Naruto but you will be able to do it, because I have faith in you as does Hiruzen… and even Master Hinata."

Naruto seemed to perk at Hinata's name, sure they had just became friends but… why would she already have faith in him already? It didn't make much sense to him, but then again he never had a friend before so what the hell did he know in the first place? Not a hell of a lot that is for sure. Looking up at Kakashi, Naruto said "alright… I'll do it… but how?"

Kakashi smiled as he said "well, first off you'll need a balloon and need to fill it with water…"


	6. Test of Chakra Control

Naruto glared at the water balloon that resided in his hand. He could feel his chakra swirling but it never lasted. He never had any real training, so he couldn't harness his chakra long enough to stay within the water, or even on his palm in the first place. Growling to himself, Naruto sat down, thinking that he should take a short break. He sat down under the tree as he leaned back, closing his eyes as he hoped to think on what it was that he was missing on how to get his chakra to stay in the balloon.

There just had to be something that he was missing. Yet he had no idea on how to do it at all! Opening his eyes, the young man tried to think, think about anything that he could do to get his chakra to form for him. Yet, it seemed that no matter what nothing worked for him. Hell, he had been trying this for a few weeks now, and yet he just couldn't get himself to get his chakra to… to listen to him.

"What am I to do with my chakra? I can't do it!" shouted Naruto before he slammed his fist against a tree and let out a growl of frustration.

"Maybe you can't do it, because you are trying too hard to achieve it." Said a soft voice, causing Naruto to yelp and turn to his right, falling over when he saw a tall man standing there.

The man wore a black high collared shirt that hid the lower half of his face from view. Dark glasses that hid his eyes from anyone, he wore a matching pair of black pants. His skin was a little tanned which surprised Naruto since the man was standing in the shadiest place of the tree. His brown hair was spiked upward, almost like he had the goosebumps at all times with how his hair just seemed to stand up on end.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto with a frown on his face.

"I am the bug master, Shino." Said the man before he sat down next to Naruto, not turning to him as he just seemed to be thinking on what he was to say next. Naruto shook his head, not sure why a master had decided to join him. He hadn't really seen anyone other than Hinata, so he had figured that all the other masters were mad at him for being chosen instead of them. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on his chakra again, yet just like the other times before him, it disappeared before he could get a full grasp over it. "You'll never get your chakra to listen to you that way. You haven't even faced your chakra to show you are worthy."

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto said with a glare.

"Have you ever wondered how people can either control their chakra or be controlled by it?" asked Shino, turning his gaze up to the sky. TO be honest, that was something that had always confused Naruto. How someone could be consumed by their chakra, or to be able to control it. It had always been something that bothered him, but he had always thought that it was because they were driven with power to hurt people.

"What do you mean by, being controlled by it?" asked Naruto with a frown on his face.

Shino didn't answer right away. In fact, he almost looked like he was about to walk away, but he remained sitting before he turned to the blonde and crimson haired young man. "Because, the chakra that resides in all of us is alive Naruto. It can work with us, or work against us. People meditate so they can go into their mind scape and speak, and fight their chakra for control. The spirit you can say, of the chakra fights and if you have earned its respect, then you can use your chakra, but if you fail… it consumes and controls you."

Naruto couldn't believe that, how could that even be possible in the first place?! Chakra being able to take control of someone? He had no idea if he should believe that, but at the same time, it got him thinking. What if it was true? If he tried to face the spirit of his chakra that he wouldn't be able to even use it. Looking up, he asked "what if I don't face it and just keep trying to use it?"

"It isn't a good idea. IF you keep trying something that isn't rightfully yours as of yet, then it will lash out at you, and weaken your body to the point that you can no longer move then possess you." As soon as Shino had said that, Naruto's skin went pale. Dear god it's amazing that it hadn't affected him as of yet. After all, he had been trying to do this for weeks! There had to be something that had prevented his chakra from doing that to him.

Inhaling softly, the young man looked up at Shino as he asked "What am I to do?" he frowned a little, wondering what more he should do. There had to be something else that he could do to be able to use his chakra, yet, he feared of what the answer was going to be.

Shino leaned back against the tree. He just sat there, thinking, staring at the sky. It had almost seemed like he had fallen asleep. Yet, he had no idea what it was that he could do to get this guy to start talking more. Was this normal for him or was this just something he did with new people? He just hoped that the answer was going to be something that he did want to hear, instead of something that he didn't want to deal with at this time.

"You need to meditate to get into your mind and confront your chakra." Shino said suddenly, causing Naruto to jump a little.

"You've GOT to stop that!" shouted Naruto.

"It is the only thing that you can do Naruto."

"Are you sure and how the hell do you know my name!?"

"Just do it." Mumbled Shino.

Naruto sighed as he crossed his legs, placed his hands on his knees as he closed his eyes, breathing in and out as he tried to clear his head. He had no idea what was to do or how he knew it worked but he knew that he may have to be careful, breathing in, and out, in and out, this went on for a few minutes before he started to get frustrated. "Shino how am I to be sure if this is working or not?" asked Naruto before he opened his eyes to see Shino, only to frown when he noticed that he was in a different area. It was a waterfall, many rock platforms were in the giant lake. The sky though, was crimson, showing him that he was not in the real world anymore.

The only other thing that resided in the area, was a huge sakura tree and resided ahead of him. What he saw in the tree, was what surprised the young man.

The man sat in the tree, his expression was bored as if he hadn't had anything interesting to do in years. Maybe even decades. He couldn't really be sure. Blinking his blue eyes, Naruto called up "Who are you?" The man turned to stare at the young man, his red eyes the only thing that he could see through the shadows of the tree. Naruto gulped loudly, wanting to back away from the man and the tree that the man was sitting in.

He jumped down from the tree, his form coming into view. He was tall, wore a red long sleeved robe that was split down the sides to his waist, revealing the black pants that he wore. His feet were covered in white bandages, as if the mere thought of shoes offended the man. How that was, he still had no idea. His hair was long, at least past his shoulders though didn't look as long as Naruto's. The crimson locks were spikey atop of his head and going down his back. Behind him were nine swaying tails and atop of his head, was a pair of crimson fox ears that he wouldn't have been able to see if it wasn't for his demon eyes.

His eyes though, they held no emotion. Void of any feeling, void of knowing any kind of compassion or kindness. He couldn't tell if this man was on his side or if he wanted to take over and have the chakra take possession over the young fox demon. There was only one way to find out, though it still didn't make it any better knowing that it terrified him regardless.

"You want my power? You have to defeat me." Chuckled the mystery man before he narrowed his eyes and pulled one leg back as he got into a fighting stance. Naruto narrowed his eyes, this seemed rather odd for a manifestation to do, but then again how would he know right? There was no way of knowing if this was a normal thing or if it was because he was a demon.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he said "of course I want power. It's the only way to do what I have to do." Though, as soon as he had said that, he could have sworn that he saw something flash in the older man's eyes. A flash of, regret? He couldn't really be sure, though as quickly as it had appeared, it had disappeared. He had no idea why this man would have been sad for though at the moment he didn't care.

He had a mission, and it was to make sure that he got control over this chakra. No matter what the cost was, he had to make sure that he won, and got control before it controlled him. Growling, Naruto said "I'm going to fight you so I can get control over _my_ chakra! I won't let you stop me!" With that, he rushed forward, hoping that he could beat this guy. Though, to be honest, he had no idea if he even had the kind of power to defeat this guy. Yet, he wasn't going to let it discourage him. He had to fight, had to be able to kick ass, and hope that he was able to gain control over his chakra.

Sadly for the young man, the crimson haired man had just seemed to appear before him and slammed his fist against his stomach. Eyes widening in pain, he felt all the air escaping his lungs. Before he could even think of something, or anything, the crimson haired man's fist had moved from his stomach, and Naruto wrapped his arms around himself before falling onto the ground "You're weak." Growled out the crimson haired man.

Coughing and spitting up, Naruto tightly shut his eyes from the pain as it just seemed to flow through his body. How could this be happening? This man, he was a master fighter and yet he was nothing more than his chakra. How was that even possible?! Shouldn't his chakra be an extension of himself?!

"You are weak, you are not worthy of this chakra!" Growled the older man before he started to walk away. "You cannot handle this power, therefore, you do not deserve it." Naruto growled, he was defeated in a single punch. That didn't sit well for him. He didn't know if it was due to his demonic heritage, or if it was just some kind of part of him that was hidden, buried deep within his soul but he hated the thought of losing. More so, when it involved the protection of those that resided in his village.

"I won't… let you walk away from me!" shouted Naruto as he rushed at him, his nine tails sprouting from behind him, as did his ears pop out atop of his head. He let out a loud growl as he slashed at the man, catching him in surprise. The man jumped back, slash marks resided on his robes causing him to look down in a bit of shock. That had indeed surprised him, he looked back up and stared at the newly transformed Naruto though the young man just glared, no real indication that he really know how to fight.

"So, you have found some desire to fight. Too bad, that you are fighting a master fighter." He soon just seemed to appear before Naruto slamming his foot against the young man's side, causing him to yelp and roll onto the ground before he slammed into a tree. "You still need more training kit. You have a long way to go before you can take me down."

Naruto groaned a little, feeling like his head was going to split in two. If that was even possible for demons to have happen, he had no idea. Though it still hurt regardless. Tightly shutting his eyes, the young man took a deep breath hoping that he would be able to get himself to get back up onto his feet as he went to kick this man's ass. "You're going down!" shouted Naruto as he pushed himself back up onto his feet and growled darkly.

"You are not worthy of this power. If you cannot defeat me, how do you expect to rule this world?" Kurama said with a glare as he let out a growl. Naruto just glared, he didn't want to rule this world, and he only wanted to protect it. Or at least keep those dear and close to his heart safe. That was the only thing that mattered to him. "If you defeat me, then you may have the power to rule. Punish all of those who dare harmed you as a child. To hurt those who had tormented you as you grew up into an adult. They shall fear you."

Okay, yeah Naruto in a way wanted to get back at all the people who used to torment him. They would punch him, kick him… Beat him until he was almost dead. They had feared him when he had lost control over himself. Yet he knew that he couldn't allow that to happen again. To get himself beat up until he was in danger of losing his life or believed, he would die. After all, he had almost lost himself when Jiraiya was beating him. Thank god that Kakashi got involved before it was too late. It was after all, almost impossible to stop him while in that form.

Rushing forward, Naruto threw punch after punch, hoping to get one hit in. Yet, the older man had only managed to grab each and every punch that was thrown at him. How was it that he just couldn't get himself to get a good hit in, he had no idea. Though, maybe this guy really was a master, or he was able to see every move before Naruto threw it in. He didn't know, nor did he think that he would ever find out.

Twisting his body around, Naruto sent in a high kick, hoping to kick him in the head. Yet, the man just lifted his arm and blocked the hit. He had to give this old man some credit, he was good. "You're good old man. Though I just hope that you don't get tired of trying to block me." Said Naruto before he slammed his nine tails into the man's chest, causing him to go flying. To be honest, Naruto had thought that he had won, at least until the old man twisted his body around and landed on his feet as if nothing had happened.

"Nice try boy. You can't hurt me, I have no real body to hurt." Calmly said the old man before he rushed toward Naruto. Slamming both of his hands against Naruto, one on his chest, and one against his stomach. The younger man went flying before he went through the waterfall and hitting the stone surface. Groaning, Naruto managed to push himself away from the waterfall, amazed by how real this was all starting to feel for him. Sure, this was all in his mind, but how was it that he himself could feel pain, yet this old guy couldn't really feel anything?

Chuckling, the older man just stared at Naruto. As if he found this whole thing amusing, yet he was trying to seem like a cold heartless man that didn't give a shit about anyone other than the thrill of a battle. Glaring, Naruto growled out "I won't let you beat me understand?! I have to have control over my chakra!" With that, he rushed forward, wanting to hit him, wanting to beat the older man. He had to win, he had to do something before it was too late!

"Sadly for you, I won't let you have that power so easily." Growled the older man before he rushed at Naruto and tackled him to the ground. Pinning him down as he lifted his left hand, high up to his head as he curled his fingers to his palm as he made a fist. "This is the end boy, I won't allow you to use your chakra."

"I have to have it! I have to if I want to protect my family and those close to me!" shouted Naruto, his eyes tightly shut as he tried to get himself to calm down, his breathing was coming erratic as he tried to relax.

"You want this power to protect hm?" asked the older man.

"I do, I have to protect people! I have to prove myself worthy of being 'The Furious Fox' but I can't without this power so I can keep people safe!" shouted Naruto, he had to be able to do this, and he had to find some way to beat him. To be able to win yet he couldn't even do that if he couldn't beat this guy in the first place! Narrowing his eyes, Naruto shouted "I will protect them even if I don't have your help!"

The old man narrowed his eyes as he then threw his fist toward Naruto. The young man yelped and tightly shut his eyes waiting for his fist to make contact. He waited… and waited… and waited. Yet nothing happened. He heard the sound of a fist hitting something yet, he didn't feel the pain. Slowly, he peeked an eye open before he saw that he was still fine, safe really. The man had just punched the ground _next_ to his head. What the hell had just happened? He had no idea though at least he wasn't dead.

"You pass my test." Said the older man before he got up, pulling Naruto up with him. Test? What the hell did he mean by that? He didn't win, he didn't beat anyone so what was he talking about? The old man chuckled when he saw the confused look on the younger man's face. "You see, I do run your chakra yes, but to me true power comes from the desire to protect. I kept going on and on about you wanting to use your chakra for 'evil' thinking that was what you did want to use it on." Naruto frowned at that, what did that have to do with anything in the first place? "But, when you declared to want to use it for protection, instead of destruction, that was when I knew you weren't going to use it for greed."

Nodding his head, Naruto asked "So, I can use it? Really?" The old man nodded his head before he snapped his fingers, causing a surge of energy to flow around Naruto, not to consume him, but as a way to help him. The young man grinned his head before he turned back to the man asking "What is your name anyway old man?"

"My name?" Naruto just nodded his head. The older man chuckled, almost as if it had been a long time anyone had asked him that. Hadn't he only been here as long as he had been born? He had no idea, but knew that he had to know this guy's name if he was going to use its chakra. It was a part of him so it would be weird to call him 'Naruto' or anything close.

"Kurama, my name is Kurama." Answered Kurama with a chuckle before snapping his fingers again, causing Naruto to wake up.

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 **what do you think should happen next with other members of the five main masters? let me know and I'll try to let it happen.**


	7. HELP

**I need your help! I have no idea what to write for the next chapter for Furious fox, and I don't want to do this one chapter I have in my mind because its FAR too soon. Unless you can think of another bonding moment for Naruto with a meeting with one of the five, as for who they are I still won't say. Let me know in PM messages or in reviews. Later!**


	8. POW

**I'd like to thank** **SoraROCK, ZyiareHellsing, acw28, DarkAvenger001 for ideas but this idea was mostly credited by Uzumaki Ricky, thanks everyone and I just hope I made it good enough because honestly, I'm having doubts.**

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Naruto couldn't believe how long it had taken him two months to complete the first task. The power that he had received had been amazing yet he still had no control over it. But, at least he could use it, to a certain point. Sadly, Kurama would hold back on his power keeping him from using too much in case it drove him to madness. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man picked up his scroll and looked through it, hoping to see what the next task at hand is.

The next task, is to master his strength and power with his chakra. How was he supposed to do that? Kurama wouldn't even let him use the full power of his chakra and yet it was requested for him to do that! Growling softly, the young man shouted "Damn it all! I can't stand this! How am I supposed to use my power if I can't even fully tap into it!" He didn't really care anymore, all he knew was that he still had to think of a plan.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Naruto leaned back as he whispered "Maybe I'm just not good enough. After all, a true warrior would be able to do this without a problem." Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man tried to get himself to relax, yet his nerves wouldn't allow it. He just felt so jumpy, just so jittery really, and he wasn't sure if he could ever really get comfortable. Growling a little, the young man threw his arms into the air as he shouted "Damn it all Kurama!" and slammed his fist into the trunk of the tree, causing a yelp to be heard from above him.

The young man looked up and saw someone falling through the branches only for their legs to wrap around a thick branch above Naruto. The mysterious person hung there and stared at Naruto with his black eyes, his hair was short and almost looked like an upside down bowl. But what he noticed the most, besides his tight green outfit was the thick fuzzy eyebrows. "Hey, you must be Naruto!" he said with a smile before letting go of the branch, flipping in the air before he landed on his feet.

Tilting his head a little, Naruto asked "How do you know my name? And, why were you in a tree?" That had been a little puzzling, then again a lot of people seemed to have known his name lately. Such as Shino, with Hinata it made sense to him since he had introduced himself at the very least. There had to be something more to it than he thought.

"Oh, everyone knows your name Naruto. Hinata has been talking about you while we're in training." Lee said with a grin on his face. Then, he added "I was in the tree trying to perfect my balance a little more. Then you knocked me down when you hit the tree." He then stared at Naruto a little bit in confusion before asking "How did you do that by the way? You have to be really strong to do that." He tilted his head before he smiled adding "Come on, I'll show you how to harness the strength of your youth!"

Naruto frowned a little before shaking his head. "No way, I don't think I can master my strength. Believe me, I have tried all my life, I gave up at this point. I have some control over it but not much." Naruto said before leaning his back against the tree. Only to yelp out from pain as he felt someone hit him against the back of his head, or at least more to the side of his head. Causing Naruto to yelp and fall onto the side of his head as he shouted "What the hell!? Why did you hit me?!" he glared at the man near him. There was no way that he would be able to hit him that hard right? Growling, he pushed himself up as he said "I swear do that again and I'll kick your ass! Somehow!"

 **Pow!**

"Stop that you son of a bitch!" shouted Naruto.

Lee shook his head as he said "Nope, this is to help you. Any or every time you are losing self-confidence, then I shall hit you. This will be a test f or you from me, and it shall test our youth!" Naruto grumbled, there was no way that he was going to deal with this. It just made him wanted to beat the crap out of this guy, but knew that he couldn't beat a master.

 **Pow!**

"Stop that damn it!" though as he shouted that, he could have sworn that he heard Kurama laughing in his mind. Growling a little, the young man vowed that he would get some kind of revenge on the fox man living in his mind but for now, he would have to focus on the man before him with his 'methods' of helping him. Which, in all honesty wasn't much help to him.

"When you have learned to stop doubting yourself, then I'll stop hitting you." Lee simply answered, a smile still on his face. This man was simply annoying, how was he even a master in the first place? At least, he was sure he was a master…

"Hey, you a master or something here? Because you remind me of a guy that had beat me up." Naruto said with a frown on his face.

"I am a master, I'm part of the Five. I focus on strength, and speed. You've already met Shino, he uses insects." He chuckled a little before he made his way over to Naruto and pulled him to his feet. This guy was a master? How was it even possible? He just seemed so odd, though he couldn't really be sure as to what it was. Shaking his head, the young man finally said, "First, we're going to focus on your strength."

Naruto wasn't sure if he really wanted to test his strength. After all, he didn't want to hurt anyone. There was no way that he would be able to hold back his strength, it just seem possible. Sure, he had been able to hold back a bit, not enough to kill anyone, but still enough to send someone to the healer. Closing his eyes, the young man whispered "I don't want to bother training. I can kill someone with a punch."

 **Pow!**

"Son of a bitch! Stop that!" shouted Naruto, rubbing the back of his head, swearing that he felt a lump forming behind his head. How was it that this guy didn't feel bad about hitting him just because he had a lack of confidence? It just didn't make sense to him, though sadly he was stuck with this man. Growling a little, Naruto asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Simple! You are to hit this tree as hard as you can! I want to test your strength to see how hard I have to work with you." Lee said with a big smile on his face. To prove his point, he punched the nearest tree, the trunk cracked a bit by the sheer power of his fist. Though, Naruto didn't think that it would be good to hold back but he knew that he had to do something, so maybe he could hold back a good portion of his power and strength.

Breathing deeply, he made his way to another tree before he stared at the tall tree. This was going to be rather weird, though he knew that Lee was waiting to see some kind of result. Blinking his blue eyes, the young man felt his power surging, Kurama was trying to hold back some of his power though he knew that he would have to be careful even if the man within his chakra was holding him back for his own safety.

Inhaling deeply, the young man held his fist back as he felt himself restraining himself. Eyes snapping open, he threw his fist toward the trunk of the tree, normally for a person who lacked the training, would have broken the skin on their knuckles. He should have felt pain though he knew that he would have to pretend to have felt something when his fist made contact.

 **Crack**

"Wow that was-"

 **Crash!**

Naruto stared with wide eyes as he stared at the tree as it had fallen over. How did that happen?! He was sure that he had held himself back but, had it been enough? Gulping a little, the young man slowly turned his head toward Lee and watched as the other man just seemed to gawk at the sheer strength of his punch. This was it, he was going to call him a monster, he was going to chase him out of the palace grounds and he would never be able to do anything to complete his mission of mastering the Rasengan.

"That was amazing!" shouted Lee with a smile.

"What?" asked Naruto with a frown.

Lee just grinned all the more as he said "I never knew someone could have that much power! Sure, it'll take longer to help you but it'll be worth it!" He chuckled a little more before he went to check the state of the tree. Naruto was still rather confused that someone wasn't afraid of his strength. Why wouldn't he just call him a freak and be on his way in the first place? Shaking his head, the young man followed Lee as the man got a better look on the tree. "Wow, it broke right through! How do you not hurt someone?" asked Lee with a confused look on his face.

"To be honest, I don't know. I worked in a noodle shop my whole life with my dad. Dad and I worked hard on our noodles day in and out, to make people happy." He had a sad smile on his face as he added "I never wanted to fight anyone again because I was afraid to hurt anyone." Lee just stared at him, his face gave no indication as to what it was that was going on in his mind. What could he be thinking about in the first place anyway? He went on with his story as his shoulders slumped. "The only time I ever really fought, was when I defended my dad's shop I fought back and yet, I seemed to have some kind of control over my actions and strength." He sighed softly before sitting down on the fallen tree trunk.

"I got it!" shouted Lee, causing the young fox demon to fall over from the shock. What was going on through his mind now?! "The reason why you could never control it, was because you are afraid!" Frowning, Naruto pushed himself to sit back on the trunk, staring at the black haired young man with a tilt of his head. As if wondering what it was that he was talking about now. "Don't you get it Naruto?! When you're afraid, you lose control over your actions, strength included. When that happens, you do whatever you can to get away, but when you were protecting your father's shop, you didn't care about getting hurt but wanting to protect the shop and your father."

Naruto just stared at him as he crossed his arms at that thought. It did make some sense to him, he didn't feel fear when he was protecting the shop, all he cared about was to protect those there and of course, his father's store. Closing his eyes for a moment, he said "how can you be so sure that was the case? I have always been told never to fight because of…" He stopped himself before he shook his head trying to get himself to shake those thoughts.

"Because of what?" asked Lee with a tilt of his head.

"Let's just say, bad things happen. Never good when it does happen, I can't be around negative emotions when I'm in a fight." Naruto calmly said before he started to walk on ahead, maybe he had to get away from this place after all. There was no way that he would be able to train, if he did there was the risk of losing control once again, and it would only become too much for him until it got to the point that he would never snap out of it.

 **Pow!**

Naruto yelped from the shock before he held the back of his head from the pain. "Son of a bitch just stop that already!" he shouted, his pain was horrible that he could pretty much feel the pressure from the pain reaching the back of his eyes. Bending low, he groaned from the pain, not wanting to yell again thinking that if he did that it would make it worse than the pain he now felt from his last few screams.

Lee let out a soft sigh before he made his way to the fallen man's side and helped him up. Naruto groaned a little as he pushed himself up onto his feet, just wanting to forget about his pain yet he knew that he could never do that again. Another hit and he was sure that it'd just knock him out. Groaning a little, Naruto was about to say something until Lee stopped him to it. "I will help you to stop your fear of hurting people and help you get in touch with your courage. I will make sure that you get through it and maybe I can help build up your speed as well."

Now his speed? That was something he didn't have any trouble with, he was already plenty fast. Had a lot of control over that and he was always thankful for that. Mostly because it helped him to get away from those who wanted to hurt him. Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto calmly said "I don't need help with my speed. I am plenty fast enough." He didn't feel like he had to work on it, but knew that he would have to make sure that he never showed anyone just how powerful he was, they would all think that he was nothing but a monster.

"Naruto, may I ask you something?" asked Lee.

"Sure."

"Why do you keep looking down on yourself anyhow?"

That had surprised him, even Hinata hadn't ask him that but, maybe she was waiting for the right moment to ask? That he wouldn't know though he could give some kind of answer, just not the full answer. "People don't see me for who I am. Instead, they see me as something that I am not because they don't understand who I am and that I am not like they have been told." He closed his eyes for a moment before he started to walk away. Maybe he needed some sleep. He just wanted to sleep this whole thing off.

Before he could get away, Lee had grabbed him saying "Naruto, I don't see you as anything but yourself. Come on, let's train! We have our youth and must spend it as much as we can! Our youth is only as eternal as we allow it!" Oh if only he knew the truth of that one. His own 'youth' was indeed eternal to an extent. After all, he would outlive everyone, and still look young for thousands of years, maybe longer.

"Alright, we'll train." Naruto said with a small smile.


	9. Protection over Doubt

Naruto let out a soft sigh, he was trying to focus on his power. Trying to get his power to increase to the point that it would burst through the thick rubber ball. It had been a weird experience with Lee. All of that training had been rather odd, mostly with having to keep the weights on him. It had taken a while to find the right weights for Naruto since the ones that Lee had to use, were still far too light for the young demon. Shaking his head, the young man let out a soft sigh as he stared at the rubber ball. He could see the ball trying to spike out the chakra through holes it wanted to make but it still wasn't enough.

 **"You have to stop holding yourself back."** came Kurama's voice, causing Naruto to yelp and drop the ball. He looked around, wondering where the voice came from, yet he saw nothing. Maybe he was going crazy. **"I'm talking to you through your chakra network dummy. It's the only way for me to talk to you, but it takes up a lot of my energy to talk."** commented Kurama, only to let out a tired sigh. Maybe it did really ware him out. That has to be why he's never spoken to him before.

In all honesty, he had never suspected Kurama to talk to him unless Naruto had gone into his mindscape. The young man sighed as he sat down as he tried to get himself to relax a little. _'What do you mean by holding myself back?'_ asked the young man.

 **"You are still full of self-doubt. You cannot live like this Naruto. The only way you can use this move fully is if you stop doubting yourself, believe in your abilities to be used to help those around you and get on with your life! Think of something that you want to protect, want to use your powers to defend and keep safe."** came Kurama's words, trying to encourage the younger man. He had no idea how that was supposed to work really. To be honest, the only thing that he had ever wanted to protect was his father and the shop, that had been a onetime thing because his father didn't know how to fight but he couldn't allow himself to go back to those thoughts. Everyone still thought he was a monster, his father was the only one to have accepted the help but, he was his father. That was the main reason and Iruka loved Naruto.

 **"This is what I mean Naruto. You are doubting yourself. You have to learn to accept that you are a demon, there is no denying that."** Sure there was no denying that. Naruto was a demon that was trying to live among humans. He couldn't help but want to hide himself from them because he was already known as a monster to them in the first place. The only thing that he knew was that people could never accept him. Kurama sighed softly as he said **"Look Naruto, this is what I mean. You are afraid to reveal yourself to anyone. People will learn to accept you, you just need to do something great to earn their respect to prove them wrong. Fox demons were once known as protectors… but if you keep doing this to yourself you'll spiral down a dark path like many others in the past."**

Dark path? How the hell was that to do with him being so doubtful of his own powers? He had no freaking clue but he doubted that was possible. Shaking his head, the young man calmly thought _'I don't think so Kurama. There is no one that would accept me, the only one that does is dad but that's different. He's my dad, he loves me regardless.'_

 **"What about your mother?"** asked Kurama.

 _'No idea who she is. It had always just been me and dad. He never really speaks of my mother, he said one day that he would but I think he would only on his death bed.'_ Naruto thought before leaning against the tree. How was it that he would never get Kurama to stop trying to get him to see that he had to stop doubting himself. There was no point in it really, he wasn't sure what the point was in people trying to get him to change. Then again, he was trying to prove to Jiraiya that he could do this move to show that he was meant to be the Furious Fox that had to mean something.

 **"That does mean something Naruto. You want to prove something, prove that you are worthy of a title, as a protector. Deep down, you want to show the world, just who you are and what you can do to help them."** declared Kurama, Naruto could almost see the older man smiling in his mind. Yet, it did make him think about everything. Closing his eyes, it made him think that he had wanted to protect people. That he didn't want to hide what he was anymore. He had always hated hiding himself, he hated hiding what he really was.

Sure, he wanted to live among humans, to help them, protect them. Yet, at the same time he knew that people, humans really, could never accept him until he had done something that even a human couldn't do for them. There was nothing that he could do that would be so grand. Only the Furious Fox could do that, even if that was meant to be him. Chuckling to himself the young fox demon figured that he would have nothing great enough that he would want to protect other than his father and the shop.

Maybe a visit to his father would give him some kind of motivation. Pushing himself away from the tree, Naruto had started to make his way to the stairs, wondering if he should go and buy some things in the village to make dinner tonight.

"Naruto!" came a cheery voice, causing the young man to turn around and blush darkly at who was coming toward him.

 **"You alright Naruto? Your heart rate increased…"** came Kurama's voice. Though before Naruto could even answer, he felt Kurama's presence fade, and he must have ran out of time and needed to rest. He'll have to go into his mindscape later on to speak to him. Though at the moment, he wanted to speak to Hinata as she walked toward him with two other girls with her.

Standing on Hinata's right, is a tall woman with four spikey blonde ponytails and a huge fan behind her. She wore a simple short purple dress with net stockings and high black boots with matching long black gloves. Her eyes were a teal colour but they almost seemed to narrow a little when she stared at him. Whatever was her problem, he had no freaking clue. The only thing he knew was that she was a little odd to him which was saying a lot since he was a fox demon.

The girl on the left, she had a bow staff behind her. She wore a long sleeved white shirt and long black pants with black shoes. Her shirt though did indeed end at her waist but it almost looked like a long dress with sides splitting from around her ankles up to her waist. He had no idea why she wore something like that but he felt like he was staring at some kind of dancer or something. Her brown hair was pulled up into two buns atop of her head, she had light brown eyes that any guy would love to stare at…

Yet her eyes were nothing compared to Hinata's eyes.

Gulping a little, the young man turned to stare at Hinata as he asked "So, what are you doing today Hinata?" He didn't know if he sounded stupid or not, but at the moment he just hoped that he didn't trip over himself when he made his way over to the young blue haired woman.

Hinata just smiled up at Naruto as she gave him his answer. "We were on our way to the village to get some things. What about you?" He couldn't believe it, she was going to the village to get some things? He smiled a bit at that, maybe it wouldn't be such a boring visit after all. He looked up at the three women as they just wondered what it was that he was going to say to the three of them. Hinata though just stared at him with curiosity as she waited for him to speak.

"Just gonna go buy some things for dinner tonight. I figured it was the least I could do for everyone for putting up with me." Naruto said with a small chuckle. Not wanting to show Hinata that he was still having some doubts about himself. He wasn't sure why but… around her, he wanted to better himself. He wanted to be a better warrior and a better man around her. Not that she would need protecting of course, she was a master and he was a newbie, nothing more.

Hinata just smiled happily before she went up to Naruto as she said "That would be great. We can go together!"

"You sure we'd have time for him to go get his things Hinata?" asked one of the women, he wasn't sure who it was that spoke. All he did was stare at Hinata's beautiful face.

"Oh come on Temari, nothing bad can happen, besides having a guy with us would have the men away from us." Said another voice, he guessed that it was the sweet looking girl with brown hair. The scary one, must have been Temari. Blinking his blue eyes, he looked up and saw that the blonde had her arms crossed and looking away from the two, mostly himself and Hinata she was looking away from.

"Fine, whatever." Came Temari's voice before she started to walk past Naruto and Hinata toward the stairs. The girl with the buns in her hair walked past them with a smile on her face before disappearing from sight. Hinata just giggled a little before walking on as well with Naruto in tow. To be honest, Naruto had no idea who they were, but he knew that those two girls were familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it as to where he had seen them before.

"Don't mind them Naruto, Temari is rough with everyone. Well, almost everyone, there is only one person that she's soft with." Hinata said with a giggle before turning to him once more. "TenTen is nice to everyone she meets." Well, that at least made him feel a little better knowing that TenTen was nice and Temari was harsh to everyone. Wait a minute… Temari and TenTen…

"You mean they're Master Temari and Master TenTen from the five?!" Naruto exclaimed as he finally got the idea through his mind. He wouldn't have guessed that they were the masters of the palace, they had never struck him as masters with how they acted. Yet, then again looks were deceiving and he should know about that. He was pretty much lying to everyone right now about him being a human. Turning to Hinata, he wondered if he could keep lying to her about what he really was. After all, she was his friend, and friends don't keep secrets like this from each other. Right?

"Hinata… I want to tell you something important." Naruto began, hoping that she wouldn't hate him. The thought of her hating him, it shot through his heart like a knife that had been through the fires of hell and back. Tightly shutting his eyes, he hoped and prayed to whatever god was listening to him.

Hinata stared at him for a moment, her head tilting to the side in confusion. "What is it Naruto?" she asked softly, her tone, it made him want to back away and run in fear and terror. He couldn't do it but at the same time he wanted to do this. He had to do this. He had to do this for Hinata, for their friendship before it ended up destroying him!

Gulping a little, he said "You see Hinata, there is something about me that no one really knows. The only person too really about me is my dad. No one ever accepts me because of what I am. But, I want you to know because you're my first and only friend. That is I'm a-"

"Hurry up you two!" shouted Temari from the stairs. Naruto groaned a little, he had almost told her what he was and he had no idea, if he should be grateful, or mad.

"Coming!" shouted Hinata before turning to the young man that stood before her. "Maybe you can tell me later Naruto? We're gonna be left behind." She giggled a little before running off ahead of him. Truth be told, he didn't know if he could do it later, he had just lost the courage to speak to her about him being a demon. Things were never easy for him really.

* * *

Naruto knew why he had felt some kind of peace up in the palace. He didn't have to deal with all the people who would spend their whole time glaring at him. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man made his way over to a stand hoping to buy some noodles or at least some veggies that he could use tonight. The owner of the stall though just glared as he threw a rock at Naruto's forehead. "Get back monster! I won't sell you _anything!"_

Naruto yelped as he held his forehead from the pain that went through his skull. Hinata had seen the whole ordeal and made her way over to the pained young man. "What's the matter sir? Why did you throw a rock at him?" She really didn't know about him at all?

"He is not allowed to purchase anything here. His father knows that and so does he! We don't serve his kind here." Glowered the man before he went to grab another rock. Hinata looked like she was about to say something before the man went to throw another rock at them, though he had slipped. Naruto, acting quickly stood in front of Hinata and took the hit to his face, for the rock had hit him in the nose.

"Naruto!?" Hinata gasped in shock as the young man now held a bleeding nose. Naruto shook his head, trying to ignore the pain as it slowly disappeared. Luckily for him pain like this never lasted for very long. Turning to her, he held his nose, only to smile brightly at her. "Why did you do that Naruto?!" Hinata said with shock on her face.

"Because you're my friend. I don't want you hurt." Answered her with a soft smile on his face.

"A monster having a friend? That's fucking bull shit!" shouted the man before he went to get another rock, hoping that this would chase the monster away. Though he never got the chance for Naruto quickly shot out and grabbed his wrist, Naruto could feel his eyes glowing red from his own rage that had started to grow as soon as he thought about the man slipping again. "You gonna hurt me monster?!"

"No, I'm gonna give you some damn advise though. I'd advise you NOT to throw another rock in case you slip again. You had almost hit Master Hinata. I won't allow that to happen again." With that, he let go, eyes no longer glowing red before he turned to Hinata as he said "maybe my dad can sell me some stuff Hinata. I won't be able to get anything here." With that said, he started to walk away.

Hinata turned to stare at the man in his booth before she ran after the retreating blonde and crimson haired man. "Naruto, give me your list for a moment." Naruto turned to her, blinking his blue eyes in confusion before he pulled out a list from his pocket before she smiled at him. Furthering his confusion, he was about to ask until Hinata's answer already beat him to it. "They won't sell you anything, but they will sell me something. I will just need you to let me know if it's any good or not." Hm… that could work. "But first, bend down a little."

Okay, that confused him, but he couldn't help but feel like his heart was beating quicker. Was she going to kiss him? Oh god, she was going to kiss him! Closing his eyes, Naruto felt Hinata's hands over his forehead, and his nose. Odd, he didn't know what it was that she was doing, but… it felt nice and warm. Opening his eyes a little, he faintly saw a soft green light surrounding him causing him to open his eyes a little further. Was she healing his wounds? "Hinata what are you doing?"

"Healing you. After all, you were greatly unjustified for doing nothing wrong." Hinata said with a smile. He felt like his heart had stopped when she had said those words. How was she supposed to know that he hadn't done anything wrong when really, he had a long time ago.

Pulling his face away from her hands, he said "We should get going. I'm alright Hinata, you don't need to worry about me." He then turned to her, smiling brightly though it was forced. "We should go get some things for dinner tonight." He chuckled a little before going to the stalls in the market, just wanting to get the shopping done, yet he could never escape all the pain in his heart. If she ever learned the truth about him, then she would hate him, run away from him and call him a monster.

Shaking at the thought, the young man tried to ignore all the pain that was just building within his heart. How could this be happening to him now? He had felt so attached to Hinata, that if she rejected him that he felt that it would destroy him in the process. "Why is this happening?" He whispered, happy that Hinata wasn't near him at that moment.

Looking around, he saw that the other two girls, Temari and TenTen were also shopping for some food, or at least he figured that it was food. Sniffing the air a little, he smelled… ink? Shrugging to himself, the young man made his way to a booth that Hinata was at, it seemed that she had gotten to the booth that sold veggies. Yet she couldn't be sure what was fresh or what was ready to use. Thank god for his skills in the kitchen for all of this.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Naruto." Came a voice that Naruto knew all too well.

Turning around slowly, he saw a man that had a slash mark on his left cheek. Four to be honest, for claw marks of a small child. He was the guy that he had attacked. The man never let him forget about the pain that he had caused when they were children. Naruto had hoped to never see him again, this was the man that had ruined his life as a child because of all the tormenting had caused him to black out and attack in defence to the point that he…

"Are you a friend of Naruto's?" asked Hinata with a frown on her face.

He stared at him for a moment before turning to Hinata and smiled at her. "I wouldn't say friend's missy. I'm Roka, I knew Naruto when we were kids." Naruto glared at him for a moment, wondering what he was going to say next. "We used to play all the time sure until he-"

"Play?! You tormented me! You beat me until I had a broken limb and until I blacked out!" shouted the fox demon, his claws growing from his rage. Wanting to hide his claws, he clutched them into fists, ignoring as they cut into his palms. "I had tried to run, but every day you found me, beat me, attacking me! Why couldn't you have just left me alone huh?!" shouted the fox, just letting it all out of his system.

Hinata looked back and forth between the two men, not sure that this is really something between friends. There was no way that friends were to fight like this. The man, Roka just smirked a little as he said "what's the matter Naruto? Don't want your little girlfriend to know that you caused this?!" He then pointed to his face where the claw marks were.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Roka, this man had been nothing but a pain in his ass since they were kids. Turning to Hinata, he hoped and prayed that she didn't hate him. His heart was beating so loudly that he was sure that even a human could hear it. The fear, it was a horrible feeling that coursed through him, and the waiting was killing him for sure.

Hinata crossed her arms under her breasts as she said "I don't know how he could have done that. That looks more like an animal had attacked you than a kid." She… she didn't think he did it? Oh right, she believes he's a human like everyone else. Oh god, don't let her believe that he's a monster, a demon. He just wanted to keep up the illusion of him being a human to her for a little while longer.

"He is a monster woman! He's nothing but a beast that should be shot down why don't you get that you stupid bitch!" He shouted at Hinata.

As soon as those words were said, him calling Hinata a bitch had crossed the line. Quickly, Naruto had grabbed a hold of Roka and slammed him into the wall. Eyes glowing crimson once more as he let out a dark growl in his throat. "Don't you EVER call Hinata that awful name again! Do you understand me?!" He leaned in close, his fangs growing and overlapping his lower lip as he added "Because, next time I will make those marks on your face seem like 'play time' when we were kids." Roka's skin went pale at those words, well more at the threat really. Naruto dropped him before he allowed himself to calm down, his fangs and claws returned, eyes no longer glowing before he started to walk back to Hinata.

Roka of course, saying one last thing before Naruto was out of earshot. "You really are a monster that should be killed off."

"What happened?!" asked Temari as she walked over to Hinata with TenTen. The three women had no idea what he had just said to Roka, and honestly, he hoped that it stayed that way. He never wanted them to know what it was that he had said to them and honestly he prayed that it stayed that way.

"Someone kept trying to convince me that Naruto is a monster." Came Hinata's reply to Temari.

Naruto didn't listen to them after that. His bangs hid his eyes from them before he started to make his way back to the palace. He was going to be alone for the time being. Maybe he could use this time, to master the second stage.

* * *

Naruto sat by the tree once more, staring at the rubber ball that resided on his palm once more. He had asked someone else to cook for him tonight, he wasn't in the mood for it now. Closing his eyes, he whispered "And the day was going to well until Roka showed up." He sighed softly before turning to the ball in his hand. He wondered what would happen once he mastered the Rasengan all together? Was there more to it than that or was it just to prove that he was meant to be the Furious Fox?

Shaking his head, the young man built up the power once more, trying to see if he could get the ball to burst. Yet he was still lacking something that would have given him the push that he would need.

 **"Think of what you felt when that rock had almost hit Hinata."** said Kurama's voice, causing him to jump a little. He hadn't heard the old man for a while, and it had surprised him. Shaking his head, the young man was about to ask him why, until Kurama shouted **"Just do it damn it!"** causing Naruto to sigh.

Thinking back to that moment, he felt the desire to protect Hinata. He had wanted to keep her from getting hurt, it was the only thing that he wanted. Even when Roka had called Hinata a bitch, he had just wanted to defend her honor for no one was to insult her in any way. Thinking about wanting to protect her, he felt his power increasing to the point of it causing the ball to spike wildly out of control. "What the?!" He said in shock, only to scream in shock when the ball had exploded in his face.

The blast had sent him flying into the tree, which thankfully hadn't been very far. Groaning, he looked at his hand and saw that it was a little singed from the blast. So what did that mean anyway? Shaking his head, the young man stood up as he stared at his hand, thinking and thinking about how that had happened until he realised… "Holy shit I just blew up the ball!"

 **"Yes you did, you see you needed power to burst the ball of course, but you were holding yourself back with your doubts. The desire you felt, to protect Hinata had caused your doubts to disappear so you could protect her and that power increased."** explained Kurama with a chuckle.

Naruto couldn't help but grin. Maybe he could do it after all. All he would have to do is to keep believing in himself and to make sure that he would always be able to protect Hinata. So long as that was in his mind, nothing would stop him from saving everyone from harm and mastering the Rasengan!


	10. Voices and Darkness

Naruto laid in his bed. He had decided to give himself a break from his training. Okay, that was one reason, the rest of it was because he didn't want to face anyone else. What if Roka found the girls again and then told them that he was a demon? Sure, he shouldn't really care but he had started to get to know everyone. Okay, maybe Jiraiya wasn't one that he thought that he could get to know but still, the Five he was starting to feel like he could trust them.

Staring up at the ceiling, all he wondered was how was he supposed to train anyway? Sure, Kurama had trained him in his mindscape but that still didn't help him in his body. All it did was give him some movement but his reflexes were still a tad slow for reaction time.

Sighing softly, the young man pushed himself up onto his feet, all he wanted was to get away from this place. Yet he knew… no, he just _f_ _elt_ that he had a reason to be here right now. "Maybe I've just been driven to insanity." He sighing and left his room. The look of it, it was lunch time. He missed breakfast from sleeping in but at least he had something else to do. Cooking always helped him to relax anyway.

Chuckling softly to himself, or at least he attempted to, the young man made his way down the long hallway. He had wondered though why he hadn't seen Kakashi or even Master Hiruzen. It had been a while since he had seen those two yet he never even thought about them. There had to be a reason for it yet at the same time he just had thought that maybe they must have been busy. Or that he had just been busy with all of his training trying to learn the Rasengan.

Shaking his head, the young fox demon made his way into the kitchen only to blink when he saw Kakashi sitting at the table, sipping at some tea through his mask. How was it that he could drink like that amazed him. "Um… hello Master Kakashi." Was all Naruto could say before he went to start gathering ingredients to start cooking.

"Hello Naruto, why do you seem so down?" asked Kakashi, how it was that he knew that he was troubled he had no idea but… he trusted the mysterious teacher.

"I keep thinking that everyone will know… about what I am." Naruto answered softly. He knew that Kakashi wouldn't know what he was, or about his past. So there was no problem with at least saying something. Letting out a sad laugh, he added "I had been about to tell Hinata about it, but I was interrupted but couldn't say it again." Letting out a soft and sad sigh, he leaned his head against the table as he tried to get himself to calm down.

"Hm…" Kakashi just seemed to stay by the table. He didn't get up, at least he couldn't hear him move. In fact, the young man didn't think that the man would even speak. What was the point anyway? It wasn't like that he would know the answer that would reassure him that everything would be alright. But what he did hear was what surprised him. "If they are your friends, or, at least if Hinata is, she wouldn't care about what you are Naruto." Kakashi said before pushing himself up and making his way over to the blonde and crimson haired man. "After all, friendship, as powerful as it is, will always look past things such as what you may, or may not be."

Naruto turned to him, wondering what he meant by that. He acted as if he had been in that situation himself. But how? Sniffing the air, Kakashi smelled like a normal human so there was no way that he could be like him. Kakashi just smiled down at the younger man as he said "I know it all so well because I myself, had friends that were very different from myself Naruto. True friendship is powerful, but love is even more powerful than anything else in the entire world."

 **"He speaks the truth Naruto."** came Kurama's voice, almost making Naruto jump. He kept that to himself for a moment before he smiled at Kakashi a little. The man was rather odd that's for sure though he wasn't sure if those words would be true for him. There was just too much on his mind that it was causing him to be down on himself once more.

"How can you be sure of that though Master Kakashi?"

"Just Kakashi is fine Naruto, and I know because like I have said before I was in your situation myself. Many years ago." Kakashi said, his smile showing through his mask as he added "It will be almost twenty-five years ago that I had last seen them." Then, his smile grew sad before whispering "Since fate had been cruel and taken my friends away." Patting Naruto's shoulder, he started to walk away. His words though, it had caused Naruto to turn around in shock. Almost twenty… but he lost his friends around the time when he was born wasn't it?

"Kakashi what do you mean by you losing your friends?" asked Naruto with confusion and shock on his face. There was no way that it could be right? Sure, his father had told him that he had never left Konoha but was it possible that it was a lie? No, his father was a horrible liar, he knew that much. Every time his father would even attempt at lying, his left eye would twitch or his cheek would end up twitching up a storm.

He had no idea what Kakashi was trying to say, but what he knew, was that it just gave him more questions about his past. Could this end up involving his mother somehow? Fear, lord he hoped that would be the case… He wanted to know more about his mother.

Kakashi turned away as he said "I lost them many years ago. They may be at peace because of a promise I had made. I just hope that they don't hold it against me that I haven't fully kept it but I am still trying even now." With that, he started to walk away, leaving a confused blonde and red haired young man alone to his thoughts. What had just happened? How was it that he got even more confused than before?!

"Damn it, Kakashi sure is a confusing guy." Naruto mumbled to himself before he started to get back to work on lunch. Man, he knew that Kakashi was rather odd but to hear that from him? It made him even more confused. He just hoped that it would be something that he would find out someday, because there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that was telling him that he was supposed to remember something. Yet, it was so far deep into his mind that he just couldn't remember, or it was that he just couldn't get himself to remember.

Rubbing his temples, he tried to get himself to focus on his meal that was before him. Yet, it just seemed that no matter what, he just couldn't get himself to focus. "Maybe just hearing Kakashi's tale is what confused me so much." He said to himself, not expecting anything else to have confused him more than it had already done.

 _"You will be protected little one, my little Naruto. So long as I live, no one will ever harm you. Plus, with someone like our friend to protect you, no harm shall ever get you, I promise you my little Naruto."_ came a voice from his mind, Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he looked around. Breathing rapidly, he tried to think on the voice. He knew the voice, he just knew what it was. The voice, it was so soft and soothing. A voice that he remembered.

"Wh-What was that?" He asked, not sure if he would ever get an answer. He grabbed at his head, feeling like his head was going to burst just trying to remember it. This couldn't be happening?! He was so close to getting an idea as to who this was but it would always slip away. "What the fuck is going on?!" Shouted the young man, he could feel his body trying to change into his demon form. It was trying to change but he was trying to stop it.

 **"You aren't ready to remember…"** came Kurama's voice, he wasn't sure why that was, but the only thing Naruto knew was that he felt an odd chakra trying to build up within his body. It wasn't of power oddly enough, it felt different. Soothing, it was spreading to his chakra network like a woven blanket, he felt… so tired…

"What… are you… doing Kurama…?" Whispered Naruto, trying hard to stay awake.

 **"I'm sorry Naruto, but you are just not ready to know the truth. Knowing now will end up destroying you."** calmly came Kurama's voice, before Naruto's world faded to black. He didn't want to do it, but Naruto's mind and body, at this stage just couldn't handle the truth. Not yet, not until he has trained hard in both body and mind would he be able to learn of _that_ truth. First, he had to be prepared for the trouble that was coming to them.

Now, Kurama had some ground control to cover, and no matter how much it pains him to do this, he knew that he would have to block that memory once more. Just thinking of having to block that memory, it almost broke the man's heart to block _that_ voice again after not hearing it for so many years. **"Forgive me…"**

* * *

"Naruto? Naruto are you okay?" came a soft and soothing voice. Groaning a little, Naruto felt something soft under his head. He had no idea how long he had been out for, or how it had happened. All he could remember was slight pain and then nothing. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up into the concerned eyes of Hinata. Why did she look like she had been on the verge of tears? Blinking slowly, the young man could smell the salt from the unspilt tears yet he felt like he should be noticing something else.

"Hinata? Wh-What are you doing here?" asked Naruto, his body starting to get some kind of strength back from his rest. He groaned a little more, feeling like his head was close to splitting in two. Man, he never knew that he could get a headache like this before in his entire life. Breathing deeply, he rolled his head to the side, feeling like Hinata's scent was right there, right where his nose could nuzzle right into her relaxing scent. Man, this pillow was soft.

"I came to check on that smell in the kitchen, I found you out cold and you looked like you were in pain. I asked the palace healer to come and check on you while I stayed. We're still waiting." Hinata explained a little, that would explain why she was still here instead of getting help but, what confused him was why had he passed out? What happened? He felt no pain from something hitting him so that couldn't be it.

Closing his eyes, the young man sighed softly in content as he nuzzled his pillow. Not sure what it was but damn it was comfy and not to mention the scent was just so soothing. He heard a small squeak from Hinata but didn't pay it much mind only for his thoughts to start to clear. Hinata had said that she had stayed with him when she came to check on a smell, then told someone to get the healer so, there was no way that she would have left him to get a pillow- Eyes snapping open, he threw himself off of Hinata and noticed that he had, indeed, been resting his head on her lap. Not just that, but he had been nuzzling her nap?!

Blushing blazing in crimson, he shouted "Oh god I'm so sorry!" he waved his hands quickly in front of him in panic before grabbing at his head. Everything was spinning, he felt so dizzy that he almost fell over. At least, until he felt Hinata wrap her arms around him. He groaned a little as he whispered "I'm sorry. I was trying, not to make a fool of myself." He tried to laugh but the pain in his head came back, causing him to whine a little.

"You'll be alright. We have the best healer here. She'll be here soon enough." Hinata said with a smile on her face. Naruto sighed softly as his head resting on her shoulder. Why did this happen anyway? "Naruto, do you know what happened to have you pass out like that?" asked the young woman.

"No." He moaned out before trying to hide his face in Hinata's shoulder. "I don't remember, I just remember cooking then… nothing." Naruto couldn't deny that it was rather odd that this happened. It just seemed that no matter how hard he tried to remember, he would hit some kind of mental wall that prevented him from knowing what it was that had happened to him. Maybe it was best that he didn't try to remember, he felt like it was better that he didn't know what it was. For now, he was just content being held by Hinata. He just felt, well he had no idea what it was that he felt being held by her, all he knew was that he loved this feeling.

"Okay, I'm here!" came a new voice, causing Naruto to groan a little. Why did people have to be so loud? "Oh, he's awake, that's good." Said the voice a bit softer before making their way to the two that were on the floor. Naruto didn't look up to see who it was that was in the room with them, all he cared about was to ignore the pain and Hinata's scent was helping him relax. "Hinata, put him on that chair, since he's awake I can do some tests on him." Hinata shifted, helping the young man up onto his feet and got him to the chair.

Hinata though of course had to hold onto him so he wouldn't fall over and onto the floor. Blinking slowly, the young man looked up and saw a woman with short pink hair. Eyes green as jewels and a blue diamond on her forehead. She wore red robes and had brown pouches around her waist. Most likely to hold her medical tools.

"Follow my finger please." Came her voice, holding her left index finger and started to move it side to side. He had no problem with that, he had no problem with seeing, everything was fine with his sight but his head wasn't. "Good." She said with a smile before holding her finger up as she said "I want you to touch my finger then your nose until I say stop."

Again, that was simple enough, it must be to see if he had hit his head or anything. To make sure that he didn't have a concussion. Too bad for her, this stuff didn't bother demons. He almost wanted to smile to himself. "Hm… nothing seems wrong. Tell me though, what happened?"

"I don't remember. I only remember cooking and then next thing I know I woke up resting on Hinata's lap." Naruto said before yawning. He just wanted to forget about this whole thing-oh wait, he pretty much did since he had no memory of what happened. Scratching the back of his head, the fox demon calmly said "I don't think you'll find anything wrong with me. I'm a rather tough case, healers have never been able to figure out how my body ticks." Which was true, not that healers still didn't try to figure out the body of a demon.

"Alright, but if you start to feel like you're about to black out again later, get someone to get me." The healer said with a smile before she left. Once she was out of sight, Naruto turned to Hinata, wondering why he's never seen that woman before though Hinata just smiled happily.

"That's Sakura, she's a fighter yes but she is also one of our best medics." That explains why he had also sensed a weird aura about her. Not a demon aura of course, but the healer of a healer and a warrior. Yawning, Naruto pushed himself up to get back to cooking, only to be stopped by Lee.

"Naruto, Hinata, Master Jiraiya wants us to go to the arena, he wants to test the Furious Fox's fighting skills." Oh shit it got worse for him.

* * *

Naruto gulped as he stood in front of Jiraiya. He had yet to see the man since he first began his training for the Rasengan. Hell, he hadn't even trained in fighting at all. The only thing that he had learned was how to unlock his chakra, then of course trying to control his speed and strength. Other than that, the only training he had done was in his mind. He has had was in his mind, and that was mostly when he was asleep.

Jiraiya though, looked just as pissed as he ever has. Standing on the side was the Furious Five, Master Gai who had recovered from their battle months ago. Then of course Master Kakashi. They all stared at him, wanting to know what it was that he could do that would allow him to be the warrior that they all suspected him to become. To be honest, Naruto was nervous about the whole thing. He didn't want to fight because there was no way that he would be able to win anyway.

"So, how has your training of the Rasengan been coming Naruto?" asked Jiraiya as he glared at the fox.

"Fine, I have mastered the second stage." Answered Naruto.

"I see, but you are still running out of time Naruto. You have still one task to go and then you still have to go through the mastery." Jiraiya said with a smirk, causing Naruto to stare at him with wide eyes. "The third stage is easy of course, but trying to make sure that it is complete and perfect you still need to train."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, this guy was trying to make sure that he failed just so he could prove a point?! "You son of a bitch!" shouted the fox demon, he was pissed. "I will prove to you that I can master this, you haven't even been able to master it! What makes you think that I can't!?"

"Because you aren't the chosen warrior."

Naruto just glared, he knew that he didn't deserve to be the warrior, but damn it all. He hated it when this guy kept on saying it. This was going to end, here and now. He was going to prove to everyone that he was meant to be the Furious Fox, no matter what! Nothing would stop him, after all, what could go wrong anyway? "Now, we shall prove it once and for all by a little fight." Jiraiya said before he soon charged at the unexpecting man. Naruto yelped when he felt the older man's fist against his cheek.

Naruto went flying and hit the wall. Damn, he didn't think the old man would have that much power. Shaking his head, he pushed himself up and charged. Throwing his own punch, only to have it blocked by Jiraiya. Staring in shock, the young man found that the wind had been knocked out of his lungs when the old man had punched him in the stomach. How the hell was he this fast? He was human, so there was no way that Jiraiya should be this fast!

Holding onto his stomach, Naruto looked up only to be met by Jiraiya's foot hitting him in the side of his head. Naruto screamed as he rolled onto the ground, landing on his stomach before he tried to push himself up. "Naruto stay down please!" shouted Hinata, not sure if he would even be able to hear her. In all honesty, Naruto did hear her, but he refused to give up. He wasn't sure what it was, but maybe he was sick of being told that he couldn't do it.

He had been told all his life that he couldn't do this, or couldn't do that because he was a demon. Now, now he had finally grown tired of it. He wanted to prove himself, prove that he was the man that he should be if he had been surrounded by other demons. A man that would be respected, would be _normal_ among everyone. Lifting his head, the young man jumped to his feet before rushing forward with a scream.

Jiraiya had been rather surprised that Naruto was getting up already. Though he wouldn't allow him to win. Naruto threw punch after punch, only to have them blocked or miss. Jiraiya had thrown his own punches, one even felt like it had dislocated his shoulder. Naruto had screamed from the pain, holding his shoulder as he glared at the older man before him. Jiraiya just smirked as he said "Give up, there is no way that you could win. Not with your shoulder like that."

"You're wrong." Naruto growled before slamming his shoulder into the ground, letting out a scream as the shoulder slipped back into its socket. Everyone stared at him in shock and horror that he did that to himself. Pushing himself back up, Naruto growled out "I won't let you do this anymore. I will prove that I am worthy!" With that, he rushed forward.

Jiraiya shook his head before rushing forward. "Sorry boy but this is the end of the line for you." With that, he threw punch after punch. His fists were nothing but a blur for the young demon. Naruto was being thrown back with each punch step by step. The young man felt the blood pouring down his face from the cut on his forehead that had been formed. Blood spilling over his left eye as he tried to fight back. The anger that was what he was feeling.

Naruto already felt his mind starting to slip. This was bad, Jiraiya's anger, his hate, it was flowing around him like an aura. This was bad, there was no way that he would be able to last much longer. Soon, the young man felt the older man holding his shirt. Naruto weakly looked up at Jiraiya, the battle hadn't been very long, he knew that. But with his head throbbing from the pain earlier, he figured that was one reason why he didn't last very long.

"This is the end for you boy." Jiraiya said before throwing one last punch, a punch that had been infused with his chakra, sending Naruto into the brick wall. Naruto slammed into the brick, feeling himself fall into unconsciousness. There was nothing left for the young man at this point. Jiraiya turned to his students as he said "Now we know, that he was never meant to be the Chosen One. We may now go back inside and choose the _right_ one this time."

"Sir we can't leave Naruto there!" shouted Lee.

"Someone will tend to him, he is none of our concern anymore." Coolly said Jiraiya before he started to walk away. At least, he was until he felt a gust of dark chakra. Eyes widening, he turned around and saw a black aura surrounding Naruto's body. "What the…?" he asked in shock.

"Naruto?" whispered Hinata in shock.

Naruto slowly started to rise to his feet, his blonde locks turning crimson like his ponytail. Lifting his head, his eyes seemed to be glowing red yet his eyes seemed rather unfocused. The young man just seemed to stare at Jiraiya, the source of his pain as his body shook from the aura that surrounded him. Everyone could only stare in shock at what was happening to the once blonde haired man. The only sound around them, was a loud roar.

* * *

 **sorry if this chapter isn't all that great, but just to point out a few things, the voice that Naruto heard may not happen again. At least not until the sequel of this story. As for Kakashi, there is a connection somewhere but I wont' say what it is. Also, there will be a battle though I can't promise if it will reveal what he is to everyone or not. WAit and see people, wait and see.**


	11. The Monster Within

Hinata could only stare at Naruto in shock. How could it be that this was the same man as moments before? It didn't make sense to her, it just seemed like he was another person. His eyes almost seemed to be glowing red, his face curled into an animalistic expression. It all seemed like he had lost all of his humanity in that battle. She knew that Naruto had said something about this once, but what was it? What had he said to her when he would go into battle? It was on the tip of her tongue.

"Just what the hell happened to him?! It's like he turned into some kind of monster!"

 _"I'm worried about what will happen during training. What if I'm close to getting killed? I black out and when that happens, I… I turn into a monster."_

Hinata's eyes widened, was this what Naruto had meant? Was this what he turned into when he lost consciousness when in a fight? This couldn't be the same man yet, the look in his eyes… they weren't human. She knew that she had to do something but what? It just didn't seem normal for this to even happen unless he has some kind of split personality disorder or, maybe it was something else.

A growl was heard through the arena, causing Hinata to stare in shock and a small hint of fear. Though it wasn't fear of Naruto, more like it was fear for him. This was something that he hated, he hated it when he turned into this. There had to be something that she could do to stop this. There just had to be something, something that could be done but she wasn't sure what it was.

"Everyone stay back!" shouted Jiraiya as he looked ready to fight. Hinata just stared, there was no way that Naruto could last in a fight with Jiraiya, could he?

Jiraiya rushed forward and went to punch Naruto in the head, hoping to knock him out. Though it seemed that while Naruto was like this, he was more skillful. As soon as Jiraiya had thrown his fist, Naruto had managed to catch it, causing the young blonde now turned crimson haired man to smirk. Jiraiya just stared with wide eyes for a moment as he said "How did you…?" Though before he could say more, Naruto wrapped his other hand around the older man's elbow and threw him into the ground.

The older man screamed out from the pain, it seemed that Naruto wasn't holding back. "He's using his full strength! He's lost control of his chakra!" shouted Lee. Was that the case? Was it his chakra controlling him? It had to be, this darkness that seemed to swarm around Naruto like a thick blanket, was it really chakra or something more?

"Hold on Jiraiya!" shouted Kakashi, only for the older man to shake his head. "What are you trying to prove?!" shouted the thunder master.

"I won't let you or the others get hurt." Groaned out Jiraiya before he pushed himself to stand up, sending a kick to Naruto's stomach. The young man back flipped into the air, landing on his hands and feet, in a way he almost looked like an animal the way he stood like that. His growl was deadly before he rushed forward, running on all fours as he did so. "He really is an animal!" shouted Jiraiya as he rushed as well.

"Stop it Master Jiraiya!" shouted Hinata.

"This has to be done Hinata before he ends up killing us all!" shouted Jiraiya.

Hinata didn't know what she could do, was it that she could just stand there while this fight went on? What would happen to Naruto though? Would he get out of this alive or would he be beaten to death? She had no idea what would happen but the master wouldn't allow them to fight at all. Naruto swiped at Jiraiya, it made Hinata think of the demons in her books when they would fight someone that would dare to threaten them. Why would Naruto fight like that though? There had to be a reason for it though, she just couldn't really be sure as to what the reason could be…

 _'Maybe this other persona, believes to be a demon…'_ thought Hinata with a frown on her face.

Growling, Naruto swung his body around as he kicked the older master at the side of his head. The older man fell over, rolling on the ground before he landed on his back. Groaning, the older man looked up only to yelp and roll out of the way, only for everyone to scream in shock. For the force of Naruto's punch had left a hole in the ground to the point that his arm from his hand up a little past his elbow was in the ground.

Hinata covered her mouth in shock, he had that much power? How was it that he could contain that much power and hadn't gone crazy before? It was something that she never knew would have been possible for someone to possess this kind of strength without going crazy. Not to mention, without any kind of proper training. It had taken The Five, many years to get to the strength that she had now. It just didn't make any sense, nothing was connecting to her.

"What the hell are you?!" shouted Jiraiya.

Naruto tilted his head at Jiraiya, his glowing eyes not showing anything other than pure hate and anger. The blue haired woman just couldn't believe that someone like him could hold so much hate in his body. The more the two men fought, the more it seemed that Naruto grew even angrier. More powerful really, and it just got worse the more those two fought. Tightly shutting her eyes, the young woman tried to think of something, anything that she could do to help him. But what could she do in the first place?! What?! What can she do to help Naruto in his time of need?!

As Kakashi watched the fight, he couldn't help but remember the lines from the prophecy that Grandmaster Hiruzen had mentioned. Damn it, where was the old man anyway?! Shaking his head, the words playing back into his mind as he couldn't help but think, that this had something to do with the prophecy.

 _"But, his heart is at risk of turning to darkness_  
 _As it continues to live in fear and hate, it will eventually become heartless."_

No, this couldn't be the start of him turning evil. There was just no way that he would be able to do it, there had to be a way to stop it. What was the other line? He knew that there was a line in the prophecy that would help prevent Naruto from turning to darkness. That would be a great thing to deal with when he saw his friends again. That he had failed to keep his promise and now this had to happen.

 _"If it does not feel any love or compassion then it will surely meet its fate, hopefully one will hear the_  
 _monster's plight."_

That was it! He knew that Naruto had been spending time with Hinata a lot lately, the young man had felt a connection to Hinata, and they have a bond that may be strong enough for Naruto to be saved from himself. Turning to Hinata, he saw that she was in deed, concerned for the blonde man. Yet, he knew that he would have to be careful, he couldn't give out too much detail since he knew that no one was to know of the prophecy, at least not yet. It was still too soon for Naruto to fully know about that task that was at hand.

Making his way to Hinata, he whispered "You can save him Hinata. He is reacting to the hate and anger that is coming from Jiraiya." He had a feeling that was the case, after all, he had heard all the stories about Naruto in the village. Just like how he had attacked that Roka boy when they were kids, just because of the hate from that boy it had caused Naruto to lose control and attack when he believed to be in danger.

Hinata looked up at Kakashi for a moment, wondering if his words were true. Turning back to Naruto, she saw the rage in his eyes, his jaws clenched as if seemed like he was trying to resist something. Or, maybe he was trying to fight back this odd transformation. She couldn't really be sure as to what it is that was causing this, but she knew that there had to be a way to stop this.

Naruto stood over Jiraiya, his hand poised to strike a deadly blow to the older man. Hinata knew that she had to act quickly before it was too late. Rushing forward, Hinata could have heard everyone else shouting at her to come back. To stop before she got herself killed. She didn't want to listen to them, she knew that Naruto wouldn't hurt her, she just knew that he wouldn't. After all, if he's only reacting to hate and anger, then she wouldn't have anything to worry about. At least, in theory she shouldn't have anything to worry about right now.

Jumping in the air, Hinata kicked Naruto in the head, just so he would get away from Jiraiya. "Hinata?!" shouted her master before they both watched Naruto skid away from the sheer force of her attack. Standing in front of Jiraiya to shield him from the angered man, Hinata didn't show any anger, hate, or fear. She just smiled up at him, not allowing her heart to show the emotions that she should be feeling because Naruto seemed to be able to sense them.

Naruto just let out a monstrous growl as he took a step forward, looking ready to attack once again. Hinata though just smiled all the more at him, holding out her arms as she hoped that this allowed Naruto to know that she was no threat to him.

Smiling gently, she whispered "Naruto, it's okay. I won't hurt you, I don't want to hurt you. No one will hurt you anymore." She tried to sound soothing, hoping that would be enough to get him to relax enough to return to normal. Naruto just tilted his head, backing up a bit as he seemed nervous about Hinata. The young woman walked forward as she slowly lowered her hands thinking that maybe he felt threatened by her. "There is no reason to fight anymore Naruto. I won't hurt you, I just want you to wake up. Please, can you do that for me?"

Naruto whined softly, backing up until he felt his back hitting the wall. It seemed that he had nowhere to go, and for that Hinata was thankful. He shouldn't have any reason to want to escape her, or is it, that because he didn't sense hate, he didn't want to hurt her? Did he only attack those, who felt hate and anger in their heart towards him? That would be something to think about, something to puzzle about.

Smiling softly, warmly even, the young woman knelt in front of Naruto as she slowly reached out to him. The young woman wasn't really sure what she was to expect from Naruto while he was in this form of his. The only thing that she knew, was that she wanted to be able to break him out of this trance of his. It just seemed as if he wanted to break free, yet at the same time his body was not able to do so. Suddenly, Naruto snapped and growled, causing Hinata to look up and saw Jiraiya there.

"Master, move away! Naruto is reacting to your anger. You have to move away, I got this!" Hinata said with a glare of her pale lavender eyes. The young woman waited, and waited as she waited for her master to move away from the two of them. Jiraiya sighed softly before he backed away, well more like dragged away by Kakashi. Hinata turned back to Naruto, seeing that he was agitated once more. "Relax Naruto, you're safe…"

Naruto just stared at her, his eyes looked like they were trying to focus on him. Hinata wondered if he was even aware that she was here, that it was her. The young man just tilted his head to the side, blinking his eyes innocently at her as if he was trying to remember who she was, what she was to him. There was something, she knew that there was something there for him to remember. Naruto sniffed at her hand for a moment before he closed his eyes, as if he was in deep thought.

 _Naruto blinked slowly, he found himself in a dark room. Vines had wrapped around him keeping him in place so he wouldn't be able to escape the fate of his 'other self' so to speak. The young man never knew why this kept happening, why though? Why was this happening to him? The only thing he remembered, was that he was in a fight with Jiraiya, after he felt the brick wall hit him and he fell to the ground. After that point, the young man had heard a voice going on in the back of his head._

 _The voice, kept telling him to kill them all._

 _Shuddering at the thought, the young man had tried to think on what he could do. He had never felt like this before. His mind and body felt so weak, he just wanted to fall asleep forever. Wanted to sleep and never wake up ever again just to escape all the emotional and physical pain that had wracked at his body for who knows how long. He felt like his body would explode from the pain that was causing all of this._

 _He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling like he could just finally rest. Maybe he was never meant to be a hero, all he was meant was to hurt and harm the people who came into his life. The young fox demon almost smiled at the thought of his final rest._

 _Until a growl came to him._

 _Eyes fluttering open, the young man looked up and saw his monstrous self-appear before him. His eyes glowing a deep crimson as the hate and anger was flowing not just through him but around him in a thick blanket. "What, do you want?" Whispered Naruto, finding it hard for himself to speak. His other-self just stared at him, as if he expected Naruto to know what was happening._

 _"M…" His other-self started to say, though he never expected him to even be able to talk in the first place. After all, this part of him only wanted to kill just in order to stay alive. "Mate… near." Mate? Who? What? What the hell was he talking about? How could he even have a mate when he had no one to love him for who he was in the first place? "Mate, full of kindness. Love… compassion." What?_

 _"What do you want me to do about it? I'm a little tied up." Naruto mumbled weakly. He didn't think his monster-self would even care about anything. The part of him, born out of his own fear and hate of the people that wanted to hurt him for now reason. All just because he was a demon. It was something that, in a way he had always known about. It seemed that when he did lose himself, he would come to this place, regaining the memories of the experiences until he woke back up. When he would return to the real world, he would have no memory, and this time would be no different from the others._

 _His other-self just looked up before turning around to stare behind him. There was a bright light, it was much brighter than when his father would snap him out of it. It was brighter, softer emotions came from it. He had no idea who it was, but if this other him was here, then it had to mean something. He had no idea, but he felt like it had to mean something, whatever that was anyway._

 _"Naruto, please come back." Said a woman's voice, a voice that he knew. Eyes widening, he looked over at his other-self and saw him nod. Red hair bobbing from his movement as he pointed to the source of the light. Was that he meant? That 'mate' was Hinata? But, she wasn't his mate, she was a human. Humans are meant to be with other humans, and he had to be with other demons. Even if he had no idea how that was to happen in the first place._

 _"What do you mean by Hinata is our mate? If, that is what you mean." Naruto whispered softly, not bothering to look up._

 _"Mate… kind, caring. Risk safety to save us. She nice, must be chosen. Smell nice too." Well, his other-self did make some sense. Hinata did risk her life if his other-self was already here with him. Hinata was nice, she also smells nice as well. It was soothing and caring. A scent that he felt like he could get lost in forever and ever. Though he couldn't really be sure of it, at least not at this point. "I do care about her a great deal, but we would only put her in danger."_

 _"No hurt. Want mate, never hurt mate."_

 _"Shut up! You are nothing but a monster, you hurt people, and dad has claw marks on his back from when you dug your claws into his skin before we reverted back! You don't give a shit about anyone!" shouted Naruto before lowering his head, he knew that this was all his fault. If he hadn't created this other part of him just to protect himself, none of this would be happening. But sadly, it was and he knew that he had to do something to get past this, yet was there even a chance of that happening anymore? He had no idea anymore._

 _"Mate waits." Whispered his other-self before Naruto felt the vines withering and disappearing. His demon self walked towards Naruto and grabbed his hand. "Go to mate." He seemed so… docile now. It was weird, but before Naruto could even ask anything else, his demonic part of him pushed him towards the light that was created by Hinata, the vines wrapping themselves around that other part of him until he was in danger once again. This was weird…_

Hinata heard a groan coming from Naruto, he opened his eyes for a brief moment, eyes that she adored as they were their bright ocean blue once more. Naruto came back to her! Smiling, she whispered "Thank goodness." Naruto blinked slowly at her for a moment before he fell forward into her arms. His body was worn out from the fight, and his other darker-half using a lot of power. Power that he had not fully learned to use yet.

Turning to the four shocked masters, Hinata called out "We have to get him to his room. He needs rest." The others nodded, before rushing to the sleeping blonde, the red had already started to bleed out, leaving only his ponytail crimson as always. Yet, what confused her was how was it that he had seemed almost like a demon? She would have to ask him some questions later, for now she would let him rest.


	12. A Heart Once Heavy

Hinata had managed to get Naruto to his room. She had never seen anyone so exhausted before and she knew that he had to have done so much just to regain control. Closing her eyes for a moment, the young woman had managed to get Naruto to lay down. He looked so at peace yet she had noticed his body convulsing in pain here and there. At least it didn't seem as bad at first. Until she would hear him scream in both pain, and terror.

Back arching as his elbows dug into his bed, fingers curling into and out of fists as if he was trying to fight the spasm of pain that was surging through his body. She's never known that he could feel like this, but she wasn't sure what it was that was causing all of this in the first place. Closing her eyes, the young woman sighed softly before reaching out and running a hand through his hair… she had to admit, he had very soft hair. Turning to his face, Hinata saw that his face was twisted in pain and torment. Just what was causing all of this pain in his body in the first place?

"I'll stay with you Naruto, don't worry about anything." She whispered softly before she reached out and gently grabbed a hold of his hand in hers. As soon as her fingers curled themselves around his palm, that was when Naruto's body started to calm down and relax. His body no longer shaking, no longer convulsing in pain. He looked down right peaceful right now.

Breathing softly, the young man just seemed to be in his own world as soon as Hinata held onto his hand. It made her wonder just what had happened to him. What had that beast been that Naruto turned into? It never wanted to fight her, like it had wanted to fight Jiraiya. Had he really just reacted to anger and hate that was directed to him? That would make sense, she felt no such thing toward him and for that she had been thankful. Closing her eyes, the young woman placed her other hand on his forehead, wondering if he had suffered a fever. Nothing.

Before she knew it, Naruto's eyes slowly started to open, causing her to jump a bit in shock. He blinked slowly before mumbling about him being dead. There was no way for him to see an angel. Hinata blushed a little before she giggled. "Naruto, you're not dead." Hinata said with a soft smile on her face.

Blushing softly, the young man pushed himself to sit up, only to gasp out from pain as it wracked his body from the inside out. He wasn't used to all of this pain before, it felt like his body had been thrown against walls for hours. Naruto stopped moving as he tried to get his body to relax a little. Hinata gave him a soft smile as she held his hand once more as she said "Just relax Naruto, how about I help with the pain? Your body went through a lot of stress and just needs to relax a little."

Hinata just smiled at him as her eyes narrowed, veins starting to form at the edges of her eyes. If anyone was near, they would notice that she now had pupils when normally, she didn't have them. It was a power that was in her family for generations. Holding her hand upward, her index and middle finger of her right hand pointing downward, she said "Just relax, and you will feel better." With that, she jammed a finger into the pressure points in his arm. Naruto winced at first but sighed softly afterwards. The pain seemed to have faded from his arm in an instant.

"What… I don't get it." Asked Naruto with a frown.

Smiling at him, her eyes never changing as she stared at the blonde man before her. "This is called Byakugan. It's an ability that allows me to see someone's chakra network and in this case, pressure points. It allows me to help release the pressure in your body that is caused by the pain that your body had just gone through. Just relax okay." Naruto just stared at her for a moment, his eyes were wide and innocent like that of a child. But there was something else there in his gaze as well. What it was, she couldn't really be sure.

Smiling, the young woman started to press a few more of his pressure points. Mostly in his arms and legs before she started to make her way to his chest and stomach. At least this way she would be able to get him to roll over onto his stomach afterwards. All of the points had been the same place as anyone else. Yet, she had noticed a few other points in his body. Some of them had caused him to moan, growl, or purr. Why that was, she had no idea, but she found it to be cute.

After a while, Naruto had managed to roll over onto his stomach, he let out a soft sigh in content. "Hey Hinata, is Naruto awake?" asked Lee as he came into the room. Hinata looked up and smiled at him before turning back to the relaxing man before her. "Oh, hey Naruto. Glad to see you're awake!" said Lee with a grin on his face.

"Mhm… yeah…" Mumbled Naruto, it seemed he was very relaxed right now. Letting out a content sigh, Naruto mumbled "I'm good… this is just… so relaxing." Yup, he was in another world right now.

Lee smiled as he said "Great, the others are in the hall, they were also concerned for Naruto's well-being." Honestly, she hadn't expected everyone to have been waiting out in the hall for Naruto. Or at least to know how he was doing after the fight. It had been rather surprising but Naruto was someone who seemed to bring light into people's lives.

While she spoke to Lee, Hinata found more and more pressure points that Naruto seemed to have. How was it that he seemed to have more than the average human being? It almost seemed like all the pressure points caused some kind of vocal reaction from him. How that was possible, the young woman had no idea, but she knew that it had to be something that had caused this.

Slowly, Hinata made her way down his back, Naruto let out soft purring sounds as she worked on his back. But, soon, the young woman had found it odd that she saw something. There was another pressure point that she knew shouldn't be there. Just around the base of his back. There was a weird pressure point that almost looked like a swirl.

Frowning a little, the young woman traced her finger along his back, feeling something odd about it. There was a strange energy coming from this one single spot on his back. "Hinata, leave that alone." Naruto said softly, yet she didn't listen to him. She kept tracing her finger along the base of his spine. There was more to this, she had to know and she was going to find out what it was. "Hinata I said to leave it _alone!"_

Before anyone could stop her, Hinata jabbed at the pressure point and it was then, that all hell broke loose on them.

Naruto jumped from the bed to the other side of the room. Hinata was thrown back by something long, furry and fluffy hitting her stomach. Hitting the wall, Hinata groaned as she looked up and stared in shock at the sight before her.

Standing there was indeed Naruto, but he was… different. He had nine swirling crimson tails, a pair of fox ears residing atop of his head. She could faintly make out fangs as he winced with the way she was staring at him, and claws at the ends of his fingertips. What was he?! Gulping a little, Hinata pushed herself up onto her feet as she reached out for Naruto. "Naruto, what happened to you? What are you?"

Naruto looked up at Hinata in horror. This couldn't be happening, this just couldn't be happening and she saw it in his eyes. This was something that he had been trying to keep to himself for a very long time. He never wanted people to know it seemed by the look on his face. Was this what that Roka guy was trying to tell her? That he was like this? "Are you… a demon?" asked Hinata in shock.

"Don't look at me!" shouted Naruto, his voice filled with sadness, fear, pain and grief. "Just don't look at me I'm a monster!" Shouted the young man before he jumped through the wall and ran down the hall. Everyone screaming and jumping out of the way as they watched the newly discovered secret that Naruto held in his heart. Had his father known about this? He must have, after all you can't hide something like this from a parent!

"He's a demon?!" shouted Lee in shock. There was no way that anyone was going to let this go. Just by looking at their faces, she saw betrayal there. They didn't think that they could trust him because he was… That's it. That's why Naruto never said anything, or… why he hadn't tried to. She could faintly remember him wanting to tell her something before they went to the village. Was this something that he had wanted to tell her, but lost the courage to do so?

It had to be.

"We must get rid of him. Demons are not allowed to be here!" shouted TenTen.

"Yes, they are forbidden from entering this place!" Shouted Temari.

"How had no one known the truth about him in the first place?!" shouted Lee.

"Shut up!" shouted Hinata. Everyone stared at the woman before them. Hinata was mad, her gaze was filled with a rage that no one wanted to mess with. They all knew what happened if they did. Hinata glared at all of them, she had never known that she could feel this kind of anger before, but now she had a very good reason to. Everyone was mad at her because of something that Naruto had no control over in the first place.

"Naruto must have had a reason for lying. For keeping this a secret from us. Think about it everyone. Since Naruto has been here, has he done anything to us?! At all!?" She saw everyone looking down, shuffling their feet like children. Oh yeah, she had them now. Though Shino, who had been silent the whole time was about to raise his hand to speak until Hinata glared at him, causing him to shoot his hand down.

"Okay, yes, he fought Master Jiraiya, almost killed him. But, Naruto was reacting to the hate and anger that Jiraiya was feeling toward him. Master Kakashi said that Naruto seems to react to negative emotions that are directed to him, which brings out a self-defence personality within him. That's why he didn't attack me. He couldn't because I wasn't mad at him. I don't hate him and I still don't!" She growled a little at everyone before she started to march past them. She had to go and find Naruto. "Now do what you want, I'm looking for Naruto." With that, the young woman left everyone in silence. She had to find him, had to make sure that Naruto was okay.

After all, he was a fox demon that was alone, and he needed to be found, needed to be comforted from the emotional pain that he had to be going through. Breathing deeply, the young woman looked up at the sky as she hoped and prayed to the gods that she found him before he was gone forever. There just had to be something that she could do for him. Whatever it was, she had no idea, but she had a feeling that it was something that only the heart could cure.

* * *

Naruto sat by the sacred tree. He curled up in a ball, tails wrapping themselves around him as if to hold himself together. How could he have let that happen? How could he allow himself to have been exposed like that?! That had been his father's number one rule and yet… now everyone here knew the truth about him. That he was a monster, a demon that could easily kill them when they least expect it. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man looked up at the moon as he wondered what he could do, yet he didn't think that there was really anything that he could do, but to leave the village.

Closing his eyes, he whispered "And I'll have to leave behind my only friend." Then he let out a sad laugh saying "Who am I kidding, I don't have friends anymore. Who would want to be with a demon anyway?" Opening his eyes, the young man looked back up at the night sky, he had no idea how long it had been since he had been sitting up here, and at the moment, he didn't give a damn about the whole thing. Soon, he would leave, leaving a note for his father saying that it is a bad idea for him to stay here where no one could ever really get past his heritage.

"So you found the Sacred Tree of Heavenly Wisdom." Came an elderly voice.

Turning around, Naruto stared in wide eyed horror as Grandmaster Hiruzen walked toward him. He backed up, afraid that the man was going to kill him because he was here. "Do not fear young man, I've known this whole time what you are." Said the old man, causing Naruto to frown a little in confusion. The older man chuckled a little before sitting down by the cliffs base, patting the spot next to him hoping to coax the fox to sit down.

To be honest, this was all very new for the fox demon, someone knew about his secret and they weren't afraid of him? Let alone, the Grandmaster of all people knew and still picked him?! That made little to no sense to him!

Shrugging to himself, Naruto sat down next to the man, wondering what it was that he would say. What could be said really? After all, he was a demon, demon's knowing how humans fight would cause great problems down the road for them all. Yet, he knew that he was still in a deep hole that he didn't think that he would be able to get out of. Turning back to the sky, the young man wondered what there was that he could do, after all, what was there that could be done? It wasn't like he could just go back to them saying that he was sorry about hiding what he was to everyone because people don't accept him. Nah that would be stupid.

"So, what is on your mind?" asked the older man, causing Naruto to look up at him.

Frowning, Naruto just stared at the kind face of the Grandmaster, yet he couldn't help but look away. Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto didn't know what he could say. How could he say it? There was just so much that he had to do, so much that he had to say and do before it took control over his life in the end. What it was though, he had no idea. "I'm upset… because everyone found out what I am. Hinata was trying to release the pain in my body from when I… lost consciousness and hit the pressure point that let out my tails and ears."

Hiruzen nodded as he rubbed his beard. Whatever the old man was thinking, it confused him a great deal. Yet, the fox demon kept to himself about what it was that the man wanted to say. "I don't see the problem. You are a demon, yes of course." Naruto lowered his head, bangs hiding his eyes as he waited for the man to tell him to get off the mountain. "But, from what I can see, you have a very good heart."

Blinking in shock, Naruto turned to stare at the Grandmaster in shock. He didn't expect that from the man, he opened his mouth to say something but Hiruzen held up his hand to stop him. "You have the body of a demon. Yet, you contain the heart and soul of a human being. Yes, most demons don't give a damn about humans and the same for humans with demons."

"Thanks for making me feel better." Grumbled Naruto before rubbing his forehead. Shaking his head, the young man added "How is this supposed to help me!?"

Chuckling, Hiruzen happily said "Naruto, I haven't even gotten to my point." That caused the fox to raise his left eyebrow at the old man. "The point is, demons don't think about humans feelings. About their safety or anything of the sort. At least not very many of them." Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was trying to think of the right words. Letting out a soft sigh, he said "Jiraiya for example. Needs help in his heart Naruto. You seem to have the power to reach people, to bring people to you in a way. Shino, for example, normally doesn't talk to anyone unless to give an important opinion of something."

Naruto frowned a little, as if trying to think about his words for a moment. Yet, he didn't think that would work. People mostly just wanted to beat him up. "Jiraiya needs to know that there is still hope in the world Naruto. The hope he had for his last student, and Kakashi's best friend was almost all lost to him." Student? He had heard of a student that was known as a hero many years ago but he had been arrested. He couldn't remember if that was when he was a kid or if it was before he was even born. He couldn't remember which.

Hiruzen just smiled softly as he said "Don't worry about it. You'll know the story soon enough." Then he turned to stare at the full moon that was in the sky. He couldn't help but chuckle a little as he said "I know that you are the one that can heal his heart Naruto and allow him to have hope for others again. He's only hard on you, because he doesn't want to believe in hope. I know you can do it, I chose you because I could sense something great in you that no one, not even you believe to be there." He couldn't help but stare with wide eyes. What was he talking about anyway? It wasn't like he had any real control over anything that he could do. So what could it be in the first place that would get the Grandmaster of all people to be able to sense something in him that no one else could?

"You have heart Naruto. I have heard many great things from the Five, and from Kakashi. We know that you haven't had such a great life thus far, but it is because people don't understand you like your father does. Do not give up hope, you can do great things so long as you believe." With that said, the old man started to walk away, Naruto turned to stop him, but… he was gone.

Shaking his head, the young man sat back down and looked back to the sky. He had a point… he figured anyway. The guy was a Grandmaster, so he had to be able to make points. Even if they didn't make sense to him in the least. Laughing to himself, the young man just stared at the sky, feeling calm and at ease from the moon. It just felt like there was much to his life that he needed, yet at the same time he wasn't sure what it was that he needed.

Sighing softly, the young man wondered if anyone would ever really trust him in the first place. After all, who would want to trust a demon? Shaking his head, the young man, leaned back as he laid on the grass. "What am I to do? What can I do?" He asked, not really sure what kind of answers he would get, he almost hoped that the answers were in the stars. Yet, he didn't think that he would be able to get the answer in the first place.

"Naruto!" shouted a woman's voice, causing him to almost jump out of his skin. Turning to stare at the blue haired woman, he just couldn't help but stare at her in shock. He didn't think that he could handle staring at her now, to see the hate and anger in her eyes that he was a demon and how she had trusted someone like him in the first place. Tightly shutting his eyes, Naruto started to walk away, just wanting to get away from her, thinking that she would do something to cause him to want to run away.

"Stay away from me Hinata. I don't want to hear you say that you hate me." He said softly, not wanting to hear those words. The thought of it, it broke his heart. Had a part of him accepted that Hinata was a huge part of his life already? He didn't know, but he knew that he couldn't handle it. The pain, it was already starting to settle in his heart and he couldn't bare it.

She walked toward him, Naruto frowned a little, not sure why she was just walking toward him. "Hinata stay away from me! I don't want to hear your words!"

"Naruto… I was worried about you." Hinata whispered softly, causing him to stare at her in shock. He was about to speak, about to say something yet Hinata just grabbed a hold of his hand, pulling him away from the cliff. Gulping a little, the fox demon felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as he wondered why Hinata was touching him. Wouldn't she be repulsed by him? Wouldn't want to even be near him because of what he was.

"Hinata…"

Giving him a soft and gentle smile, Hinata started to speak. "I don't care what you are Naruto. I see you for you." She smiled happily before hugging him, Naruto wanted to cry. He felt the tears prickling behind his eyes but he refused to shed those tears. Tightly shutting his eyes, the young man slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around her, careful of his claws. His nerves had been bad to the point that he couldn't switch back, he couldn't change back into a human. At least, not yet. "I don't care if you're human or a demon. I got to know you for who you are. When you told me about what happens to you when you're in danger, I knew that you told the truth."

He couldn't help but smile softly at that. Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto just held onto Hinata, he never wanted to let her go. He just wanted to hold onto her for as long as he could, forever. Honestly, the young man felt so at ease, and at peace just holding onto this woman. Soon enough, the young man felt something rubbing his ears. Blinking softly, Naruto pulled his head back and looked down, seeing that Hinata was rubbing his… his ears?

"Hinata?" He looked at her questionly.

Giggling softly, the young woman reached up and started to touch and rub his ears once more. He couldn't help but blush and close his eyes. He enjoyed all of this, it felt so wonderful and amazing honestly. Slowly opening his eyes, the young man looked down at Hinata as he asked "What… what are you doing?" His voice sounded odd to him. The young fox demon never knew that he could feel like this but for some reason, it felt different, almost pleasurable if that was even possible for him.

"I wanted to touch your ears! They feel wonderful and fluffy and fuzzy!" She squealed softly before she pulled her hands back. Letting out a soft sigh, Hinata said "Look, Naruto. I honestly don't care if you're a demon or human. The person that I come to know, is the person that you are right now in front of me. Nothing about my opinion of you changed at all. You are still the same person that I met, maybe even a little different but still the same man."

Naruto just stared at her. Blue eyes staring into pools of pale lavender. He never knew that he would hear something like that from, well, anyone. But to hear it from Hinata, it made his heart soar at the thought of it. Smiling, Naruto couldn't help but lift Hinata and spun her around. This was the best thing that he's ever heard in his life, just hearing those words made his heart and soul feel a little lighter. He had never known that his heart was so heavy before, maybe all his life it had felt a little heavy from the burden of keeping what he was a secret from everyone.

Yet, to know that Hinata accepted him, never cared about him being a demon. It was the best feeling in the world and he never wanted to lose that feeling. Naruto wanted to keep that feeling with him forever.


	13. help?

what should happen for the next chapter of this story? I know this story won't be THAT long but still, just one more chapter before we get serious! WOO


	14. The Real Monsters

Naruto breathed softly as he sat outside of the palace. It had been a few days since his secret went out into the open. Almost everyone in the temple hated him in an instant. Closing his eyes, he allowed his true appearance to come, closed his eyes as he started to meditate. Maybe that would help him relax, since there was no point in trying to hide what he was out here anymore. No fear of anyone seeing him like this since they all knew the truth.

The only people that didn't seem to hate him so far is Hinata, Kakashi and Hiruzen. At least, he thinks Kakashi didn't hate him since he never showed that he knew but then again, he didn't show that he never knew. Shaking his head, the young man breathed deeply as he slowly started to back into his mind scape once more.

 _Looking around, Naruto found himself back into his mind scape. He wanted to ask some questions of Kurama. Wanting to know if there was a reason why Hinata accepted him so easily. It just didn't make sense to him, but at the same time he never wanted to lose Hinata's kindness. There was just so much to it, so much more to Hinata's kindness than what people would ever suspect._

 _"Hinata just has that kind of heart Naruto." Calmly came Kurama's voice as he stepped out of the shadows. Naruto frowned at him in confusion. He chuckled a little bit before he walked over to the confused fox demon in front of him. Placing ah and atop of his head and ruffled the spiky locks. "You see, some people are just born nice and filled with compassion. Hinata must have been born with that in her heart along with having very good role models in her life."_

 _Looking up at Kurama, Naruto wondered why the man was acting like… like he was family. It didn't make sense but at the moment that was the least of his worries. "But what about when… I lost control? I didn't attack Hinata at all. I know I didn't because I didn't smell any blood on her! Well, not her blood."_

 _Kurama chuckled a little before he turned to look back toward the sakura tree that resided in the scape. "Because, she held no hate. No fear, no anger towards you. Your body reacted to the hate that is around you, hate that is directed towards you. Plus, that part of you that small part of you doesn't want to hurt a woman that it thinks is his mate."_

 _"Mate?!"_

 _"Yes, in demon terms, a mate is a wife or husband. In some sense, you have picked Hinata to be your mate though the bond isn't strong enough yet for it to cause any kind of harm to you." Kurama explained. It was as if his mind had shut down with those words. He had chosen Hinata as his mate? Oh dear god, how could he have done that?! It just didn't make sense to him but then again, maybe it was because she was nice to him and his other self felt that she would have been a good choice as his mate? He had no idea, but he couldn't do that to Hinata. He just couldn't do it to her, to be with him? That would or could very well ruin her reputation and he just couldn't do that to her._

 _Closing his eyes, the young man looked up at Kurama with narrowed blue eyes. "I won't allow it. I can't allow Hinata to be my mate. Think about it Kurama, if she is my wife then… then she…" His ears lowered a little atop of his head as he went on. "She'll grow old and leave me alone. She'll have to deal with my staying the same age forever Kurama! I can't go through with it! It is best that Hinata and I just stay friends." Turning away, Naruto just wanted to be able to enjoy himself, he just wanted to try to live his life like a normal man would. Well, a man that just happened to be a demon._

 _Kurama sighed softly as he whispered "Naruto, let me tell you a story about another demon that had been in your situation." Naruto frowned in confusion before he tilted his head at him. "Many decades ago there was a man, a warrior really. He was lost, badly wounded and left for dead. He thought that he was going to die but he found himself staring face to face with a woman. She had beautiful hair, long and black as the night sky, brown eyes that were soft and loving."_

 _It made him wonder where this story was going right now. What did this have to do with his own trouble with Hinata and everything else?_

 _"She found the warrior left alone in the woods and brought him to her home to treat his injuries. The woman, was smart, a healer and had a heart that was pure and not an ounce of hate within." He chuckled a little, his eyes staring at Naruto with a softness, a fondness that resided there. It made him wonder if this was… "The warrior was confused and shocked as to why the woman brought him to her home, treated his wounds."_

 _"What happened?" asked Naruto with a frown._

 _Kurama chuckled a little more before he leaned against the tree that was nearby. It seemed that this story had some kind of meaning for it. "She treated him and nursed him back to full health. He knew that he had to go back to his village, but he couldn't leave her. He had fallen in love with her at first sight, and so did she." Lowering his head, the young man let out a defeated breath as he added "They loved, they laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. The warrior and the woman married in both the demon and human terms. They enjoyed their lives, and had a child together. Yet, after decades of love and joy the warrior lost his wife to time."_

 _"Lost her to time? You mean…"_

 _"Yes Naruto, she died of old age. Leaving the warrior, and their child alone. Normally, a demon joins their mate in death but, he couldn't do it. He knew that she wouldn't want him to do it, that she would want him to stay with their child and protect the village of fox demons. The love he shared with her had remained in his heart, he taught the others of his village how to fight, how to protect and live their lives to protect humans." Kurama explained before he let out a soft yet sad sigh. Naruto was sure that this man had something more to his story, that there was something more to it that no one would ever expect of him._

 _"What happened after that?"_

 _"The warrior too, met his fate. Over the death of his mate, his powers dimmed a bit, not enough to notice by humans, but enough for demons to notice." He ran a hand through his hair before turning to Naruto with sad eyes. Before he died, his child found their own true love, and had a child together. The warrior vowed to protect that child forever because in a way, the child reminded him of his wife, mostly in appearance. Even now, that child is protected by their grandfather, never knowing the truth."_

 _Looking down at the ground, Naruto wondered what the point of this story was. Just to tell him that he could be with Hinata even though he was a demon? That he could indeed love Hinata and just enjoy the life that they have together even though, they were different and she would slowly fade away from him? "I don't know Kurama, I don't really know if I can do this."_

 _"You will be alright Naruto." Kurama said with a chuckle before adding "Also, keep your true appearance up when you fight. You have better access to your chakra. A fox demon can only fully access their chakra if their tails are out. The number of tails is the amount of power you have." Turning to the tree, Kurama had a soft yet sad smile on his face as he whispered "It's time to go, I think Hinata is calling for you." With that, Kurama snapped his fingers, ending their time together._

Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he looked up into the smiling face of Hinata. Her face, radiant with her smile made his heart flutter within his chest. How was it that she could make him feel like this? He had no idea, but he knew that he couldn't allow himself to get too close to Hinata. At least, not in a romantic sense. Gulping a little, the young man pushed himself up and started to dust his pants off of the grass and dirt that clung to the cloth. "What's up Hinata?" asked Naruto with a grin on his face.

"I came here because I sensed a great amount of chakra coming from here. You were… you were glowing with blue and red chakra. What was going on?" asked Hinata with a frown on her face. It seemed that it had scared her a little, to see so much chakra like that in front of her, must have scared her. Closing his eyes for a moment, the young man stared at Hinata with a soft smile on his face as he asked, or at least was about to ask, until Hinata spoke up again. "Please tell me that this wasn't something that could harm you!"

"No, no, I'm fine. I was just meditating. I wasn't trying to worry you I'm sorry Hinata." Naruto said before pulling her in for a hug. To scare her made his heart ache a little. He wasn't sure why that was, but he just felt like it caused him pain to him to think that he had done something that could have scared Hinata like that. Breathing softly, a blast of her scent washed through him causing him to shudder and pull back. "How about we go and get something to eat? I'm kinda hungry." He chuckled a little before he started to walk with the blue haired woman.

It all just seemed like it would be a quiet walk back to the palace. In all honesty, he wanted to hide his tails and ears again, but he wasn't sure if he should anymore. What was the point in doing it now when everyone was sure to know what he was now? It just seemed pointless, sure he knew that he should have done that in the village but, then again everyone in the village was trying to hurt him in a way, no need to add more to their fear since they couldn't him back. Now, the warriors here, they could fight back so there was no fear… just the hate.

Closing his eyes, the young man ran a hand through his hair, fingertips lightly touching his fuzzy ears. It had been a while since he really felt his ears, he never had them out this long before, and normally they only came out when someone hit that pressure point on his spine like Hinata had. Or, if he had shifted in his sleep. Turning to Hinata, his eyes opening as he did so… all he could see was her smile, soft and radiant. He could see how his other self would have fallen for her.

Breathing softly, the young man calmly asked "Hinata, what do you think the others will think? About me anyway?" He just wanted to get himself out of all of this hate, it was already starting to bother him but he knew that he had to keep it buried deep within his soul. Though, he also sensed a hint of calm washing over him. Was Hinata keeping that other part of himself down in his soul? He had no idea, but it was possible. Inhaling softly, the young man felt himself reaching out for Hinata, before he could stop himself, he had grabbed a hold of her hand.

Blood rushed to his face, Naruto felt like he had done something stupid, yet before he could pull his hand back, he felt Hinata's fingers curling around his as she held his hand. His face went warmer, the blood flowing into his face grew hotter and hotter as he stared at Hinata with wide blue eyes. She just looked up at him, her face still held that smile. How was it that she could just stare at him like that? Gulping a little, Naruto opened his mouth to say something, yet the words seemed to have frozen in his throat. In fact, he looked more like a fish out of water.

"Well, they will have to remember what a kind person that you are Naruto. You are still the same person that you've always been. You may be a demon but at least you haven't done anything to prove that you are evil. Yes, you lost control but you didn't plan for it to happen." Hinata answered with a big smile on her face. It always amazed him that she could be so positive about the whole thing, but he knew that he had to talk to them. After all, it wasn't like he could really do anything to change their minds right away, but what he knew was that he had to at least talk to them, tell them that he wasn't going to hurt anyone. He had no true reason to want to hurt anyone.

"I hope so Hinata, I hope that they see things like you do." Whispered Naruto before he let out a soft sigh. Turning his gaze to the sky, he wondered what ever happened to the warrior from Kurama's story. Does the warrior's grandchild even know that they are being protected or that they have some kind of human blood in them? That would be rather amazing to be honest, and… it did get him to start thinking. If it was possible to have a child with a human, was it possible to extend… no. He shouldn't be thinking about that right now, he wanted to make sure that Hinata lived a normal human life without him interfering.

"I'm also hungry, how about I make us all some soup after we talk to the others!" Naruto said with a big grin on his face.

* * *

Naruto walked into the kitchen with Hinata, still holding her hand. It did confuse the hell out of people to see him with his tails and fox ears out but hey, this was in a way a test. A test to see if anyone will attack him, so far nothing. Maybe they were afraid to attack him thinking they'll get their asses handed to them? He had no idea, but he knew that he would pace everything. He had to make sure that he didn't just throw this all in their faces.

Mostly by just waving and smiling, mindful not to show off his fangs.

As he gazed around the kitchen, Naruto saw everyone sitting there. Lee, TenTen, Temari and Shino. All of them turned and saw Naruto, eyes narrowed into a glare. Well, from what Naruto could see anyway from Shino since he wore those sunglasses of his. Naruto was about to speak, until Temari spoke instead. "Get out of our faces monster!" Came Temari's yell. Okay, to be called a monster did hurt, but he knew that he had to be careful over what he says next.

"You do not belong here!" shouted Lee.

"I can't believe I helped a demon." Mumbled Shino.

Naruto's hand clenched into a fist as he tried to keep himself calm. He knew that they were mad, but was it mostly out of them seeing that he was a demon, or that he had kept this a secret from them all? Before he could even say anything, Hinata spoke up. "He didn't even do anything wrong, you guys have seen the kind of person that Naruto is and yet you're judging him just based on him being a demon?!"

"Demons are not allowed here." Came TenTen's voice.

"That doesn't answer my question." Said Hinata, her voice taking on a different tone. Was this something that came now and again? Her going from sweet to a hardened warrior? He had no idea but he kinda liked it. Man, he was glad that Hinata couldn't feel emotions like he could. That just would have been a little weird to go through.

"He lied to us all! He pretended to be a human and tried to befriend us all! Aren't you mad Hinata?!" shouted Temari.

"I'm not. He had his reasons for it!" Hinata defended.

"I did…" whispered Naruto, causing everyone to turn and stare at him, as if they are just noticing him in the room. Lifting his eyes, eyes now a deep crimson as he said "I had my reasons for hiding what I was. Sure, a lot of people in the village knew about what I am, but I had a damn good reason for it!"

"What was it?!" shouted Temari.

"I wanted to be human like you all!" shouted Naruto.

Everyone stared at him in shock. The red slowly bleeding from his eyes as Naruto tried to get himself to calm down and relax. He slowly looked up at everyone in the room, noticing that the four masters, not including Hinata, were staring at him as if he grew a second head. Rubbing his face, the young man felt like a great weight was placed upon his shoulders, no, this weight had been placed upon him since the moment he realised just how harmful he could be to humans.

Inhaling deeply, Naruto started to explain. "All my life, people feared and hated me. All because I was a demon. My father, is also a human but he didn't care about what I was. He still loved me, even if I do hurt him in some way he could never hate me." He gave a small smile as he looked up at everyone in the room. "Try being in my situation. I try to hide myself to forget about what I am. To forget that I'm a demon, yet every morning I wake up in my true form. The form that you see before you."

Everyone was silent for a moment, it was as if they didn't know what to think of it. What to think about being in a situation that was like Naruto's and personally, he never expected them to see what it's like. "I can never forget because no matter what form I take, I can still sense people's emotions. It's rare when I can't really sense anything as often as I should. Yet when I sense nothing but hate and it's directed to me… I lose control, lose my mindset and attack. I can only snap out of it, if someone tries to stop me doesn't feel anything but a positive emotion."

"Like what I did for him. I wasn't afraid of him, but I was concerned for him." Hinata said, to give everyone an idea.

Nodding his head, Naruto turned to stare at them all again. "So try being like me. Try to live a life where everyone hates or fears you for no good reason. You try to do nothing but good and people only see you for what you look like. A demon, instead of looking deep down inside to see what a person really is. I can see you all right now in fact for who you truly all are!" He growled a little, causing the haters to stare at him before going into a fighting stance. "Before I thought you were all amazing warriors, warriors that do the right thing and fight to protect the innocent. Now though?" He closed his eyes before saying "I see the real monsters." With that, he turned around and started to walk away. "Hinata, I… I'm gonna go visit my father for some of his soup. I don't really feel like cooking anymore."

With that, Naruto started to walk away. Leaving his words in his wake as he left the masters behind. He knew that what he said may have been a little much, but it had to be done. It just had to be done, for if it wasn't there would never be a chance for anyone to ever get over the fact that he was a demon.

Meanwhile, far away in a prison of the highest security… a door was blasted off by a powerful punch. A guard had been thrown out of the prison causing him to gasp out in shock and pain. He groaned a little and was about to get up until he felt someone stomping their foot onto his chest. Causing the air to be knocked out of his lungs once more. Wheezing, he looked up and stared at a pair of black eyes, a sick grin on his face. The guard gulped a little as he said "You won't get there, we'll do all we can to stop you!"

"Really? You all those years to do it and yet, you let me live." Said the man, a smirk growing darker and sinister. Chuckling, he added "Now, all I want to do is visit my home is that too much trouble? Plus, I want to see who this… warrior is. I want to see whom Master Hiruzen chose to be the Furious Fox, a title that should have been mine!"

The man laughed like a psycho before he looked back down, his smile dimming until nothing remained. "I'll have one of the other guards send a message to the palace. I want a nice welcome party waiting for me. But, I want to test my skills on someone." He smirked once more, his eyes closing for a brief moment. The guard went pale at the idea of what was to come. He knew that he was going to die but he had no idea what it was, but knew that he had to do something! Yet nothing came to mind.

Eyes opening, the man revealed a pair of glowing black eyes with three black tomoe in each eyes. At that point, the guard screamed as he felt bits of his body being ripped apart one by one with the insane laughter echoing around him.

* * *

 **thanks to all the readers that gave me ideas for the new chapter. Now, as for the tale that Kurama shared, should there be a oneshot about it or you don't want to see that?**


	15. Something More

Jiraiya sat in his meditation room, he had felt the desire to do so since he had been attacked by Naruto. How was it that the boy could have that much power? Ah yes, since he had heard from the passing warriors or staff of the palace, saying that the boy, the young man, was a demon. How could it be that was possible? Demons were not allowed in the palace, hell, they weren't even allowed in the village! There was a special barrier around the village that kept demons out. There was no way that a pure blooded demon could come in here… so how was that possible?

Opening his dark eyes, his thoughts were everywhere. Hinata was where some of his thoughts went off to. She had been able to stop him from getting killed by Naruto. It had just seemed like Naruto couldn't, or wouldn't bring himself to kill her. IT was as if some part of him was still there within and yet, he had snapped out of it, out of that darkness that seemed to control him before he could kill the older man.

Closing his eyes, the more he thought about Naruto, the more he was reminded of an old student of his. An old student that had gone mad with power, controlled and consumed by his chakra. A man that was like a brother to Kakashi and a son to himself. Yet, no matter what he did, he couldn't allow himself to go back to that dark place. He had gotten over it, gotten over the betrayal of his student. Yet, his mind kept wandering back to those dark days.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man pushed himself up onto his feet, thinking that he had kept himself locked away for now. Right now, he needed to speak to his master, maybe Master Hiruzen could shine some light upon something that had been bothering him so much.

Leaving his meditation room, he wandered to where his master would always be at this time of night. The Sacred Tree. IT was the only place where he went to at night to think about the day's events though, he had a weird feeling weighing on his soul. As if, this chat will be the most important chat of his life. Yet, he couldn't be sure if it was important, or if it was just a stupid feeling that swirled within his soul.

Breathing in and out deeply, Jiraiya made his way to the Sacred Tree, and like he knew, there was his master. Sitting near the edge of the cliff that resided there. How many times had he told him not to sit near the edge at this point? Too many to count. Shaking his head, Jiraiya made his way over to his master before saying "Master, I want to know something. The boy, the one you claim is the Chosen Warrior, did you, or didn't you know that he is a demon?"

Hiruzen didn't turn to face him right away. In fact, Jiraiya wondered if he even heard him in the first place. He couldn't really be sure of it. He was about to open his mouth again, until the older man's voice stopped him. "I did know. I knew that he had demon blood within him." Answered Hiruzen.

Narrowing his eyes, Jiraiya couldn't believe that his master allowed this to happen! How could it be that he would allow someone, a demon no less, into this holy place! "How could you! Did you lower the barrier all those years ago to let him here?! He has been here all his life master!" shouted Jiraiya.

"I never did such a thing. The barrier only affects pure-blooded demons from entering." Okay, that confused him. What did he mean by that? There was no way that Naruto could be anything but a pure-blooded demon! The boy was powerful, the whole time he stayed here had shown skills, not to mention from everything that he had heard about some kind of 'demon child' that was in the village. He had assumed at the time that the child was just a bratty kid. Yet, what if that hadn't been the case? What if it was the truth, and that there was a demon in the village after all?

Tightly shutting his eyes, hands clenched into tight fists as he tried to control the rolling anger that tumbled through him like a stone. Sadly that was harder than it sounded. Turning to his master once more, he said "But how could he have gotten in here?! You said pure-blooded demons can't get in and yet he's still here!"

"He has human blood within him Jiraiya. I don't know how he came to be, but he does indeed, have human blood in his body." Hiruzen said with a small smile. He knew he was smiling because he saw the older master turning to face him with a bright smile on his face. Naruto had… human blood? But, how could that be possible? There was no way that a human would ever love a demon! It was unheard of, it just couldn't be possible for a human and a demon to be together without the human getting killed in the progress! Demons were nothing but monsters, they didn't care about humans at all! "Haven't you ever heard of the story decades ago Jiraiya? About the Demon Warrior and his Human Lover?"

He had. Yet, it was nothing more than a fairy tale for children at bedtime. Rolling his eyes, Jiraiya crossed his arms as he said "That still doesn't make sense though. That was nothing more than a tale! It's not real Master, it's just a stupid story."

"I believe it's true. I have met the warrior long ago myself. In fact, I helped him during a war and stayed in his village until his return. He returned with his half-demon child. That child, had found their mate and had their own child. I had left but I had heard wind of their deaths." He turned to his student with a calm gaze on him before he chuckled. "I was there with Kakashi remember? After-"

"Don't bring him up. I never want to speak his name." Jiraiya said before looking away.

"Jiraiya… Naruto is the key to saving the village, and to help you overcome your own darkness." Jiraiya shook his head, not wanting to believe it. After all, he had to deal with this pain for a long time and so it would remain. The pain made him stronger. At least that was what he was telling himself at this point. Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya was about to speak more, but his master beat him to it. "Jiraiya, in a way… Naruto is just like him. Naruto is alone, sad, trying to make people happy and yet everyone around him hates him. Sure, he has his father's love, but that love is never enough. Just like how you loved him as your own son, and Kakashi loved him as a brother. There was just too much pain in his heart and that was what consumed him. Naruto is on the right path to prevent that happening to him." Turning down, he saw Naruto walking back to the palace with Hinata walking with him.

The young man had a soft smile on his face. Jiraiya could see it. He had a different air about him than his old student. Naruto though held an inner sadness that was all consuming yet it seemed to disappear when Hinata was around. It was as if she took away all of that sadness that took over his body and replaced it with… love. The kind of love that he had always been lacking. Had that been what he was missing all that time?

Had that been what… what his old student had been lacking? Was love? Or was it when he lost her and went consumed by that, plus that he believed he was the Chosen Warrior, yet he wasn't? He couldn't be sure yet, that was what it was starting to look like. Breathing deeply, the young man took a deep breath before he turned to his master asking "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to train him. Because our time is coming Jiraiya. He has escaped, I could sense it. He is coming to get us all for allowing him to be in that awful place all these years." Hiruzen said with a sadness that seemed to weigh down on him. His own soul was heavy with it, and he could see the way his shoulders sagged from the horrible weight.

"But that can't be! It shouldn't be possible!" shouted Jiraiya.

"His eyes must have gotten more powerful over the years. He had to have found a way to escape. You have, no, you must train Naruto now for only he can save us all." Closing his eyes, the tall man didn't know if he could do it. If it was true, that he was coming here then there was no way that they would have enough time to stop him. To prepare Naruto for the battle that was to come. It was just too soon. He would be here in maybe a few weeks at the most if lucky. Yet, he knew that he had to do something or else everyone would pay the price because he couldn't finish the job before. "Please promise me my friend that you will at least try."

Nodding his head, Jiraiya took a deep breath as he stared at his master. He knew in his heart that this had to be done. No matter how much that he couldn't do it, couldn't train a demon… he couldn't let anyone pay his price. Not with their lives, he had to do it for the sake of the village. Even if he had to stay behind in order to make sure that they were all safe. If that was going to be the case, then he would have paid his price for his mistakes at long last. The task, it would be hard for him but maybe there was a way to train Naruto, what that was though he couldn't really be sure. At least, not yet.

"I'll try Master Hiruzen. But, why can't you also train him?" asked Jiraiya with confusion lacing his words. Yet, his eyes, seemed afraid of what the answer may end up being. The older man chuckled before he rose to his feet, his body fading in and out as if he was no longer there, or at the very least, no longer apart of the world itself. Jiraiya just stared, his eyes slowly widening before he whispered "No, it can't be…"

"I am sorry my friend. This is all the time that I have left… You will find my body, in my room… please Jiraiya, bury me here for it was the only place I felt at peace." He chuckled a little before he started to walk away. Walking over the cliff, the blossoms from the tree swirling around him slowly as he was starting to fade away into the night. Jiraiya tried to run after him, hoping that he could stop him yet, it was not meant to be, for the man had faded from sight as he walked toward the moon.

Leaving the white haired master alone to his thoughts. There was no way that this could be happening yet, he knew that it was. Covering his face, he let out a soft sob for he didn't just lose his master, but he lost a dear friend. Now, he had to go on with his destiny, and he has to train the Furious Fox, like he should have in the beginning. Now all he had to do, was hope and pray that he wasn't too late in doing so with how much time was left to train the boy.

* * *

"Naruto, you sure that you want to do this?" Asked Hinata with a frown on her face. While they had been in the village, there was a festival going on, but no one wanted him there. They all still hated him, and when Hinata had asked him if he had ever gone to the festivals growing up. His answer? No. They never allowed him, even with his father helping him, they couldn't go. From what Naruto had mentioned, his father did start going with Naruto's insistence saying something like 'Just because I can't go dad, doesn't mean you should miss out on my account.'

To be honest, that was very selfless of Naruto.

Hinata had asked him if there was something that he had always wanted to do at the festival, anything at all and they could do it at the palace just so he had some kind of experience. He had said "I always wanted to dance with a girl but all of them were afraid of me." She had asked him if, he wanted to dance with her.

When she suggested it, his face had gone red. Had he been thinking about dancing with her or was it that he just wasn't used to this whole situation? She couldn't really be sure of it, though if it made him happy, then Hinata was willing to do it for him. Though honestly, she was starting to have second thoughts because, she forgot that she had no idea how to dance at all.

He gulped a bit and reached out for Hinata, but she backed away. That had caused a frown to grow on his face, did she want to back out of it now? Was it him? Hinata gave him a soft smile before saying "I want you to dance as yourself Naruto. Don't hide your ears or tail…" Then she frowned a little before adding "Though, we don't have any music." He crossed his arms, a thoughtful frown on his face as he shifted from foot to foot, only to grin. He had an idea though what he mentioned made her blink in shock.

"I could sing a song. I know one by heart," He chuckled a little, though when Hinata was about to say something, he held up a hand to stop her as he said "Though before you ask, I don't know what the song is really. I just… know it." That only confused Hinata all the more, he couldn't help but give her a soft smile before saying "I know, I'm confusing you."

"Don't read my emotions." Hinata said with a soft laugh, she should be angry, but knew that she couldn't bring herself to be. It was cute how Naruto could sense emotions like that, though she also knew that he had no control over it. It was just a part of him, a part of him that she liked regardless of what he was. "I'm ready when you are though Naruto." Hinata said with a smile.

He nodded his head, making his fox ears and tails appear before he walked over to Hinata. Gently taking her hand in his, and his free arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her close to his chest. Hinata felt her blood rushing to her face as she blushed, though that wasn't the only thing that she was noticing while Naruto held her. It was the way his heart was beating in his chest. It was quick, and only beating quicker. Was he just as nervous as she was about this whole thing? Maybe…

 _I don't think that I can tell you what this means to me  
But here I am, it's so hard to believe  
That I'm standing here, that I've come this far  
But you always said, have faith in who you are  
I wanna take this time to thank you for the love you gave  
from this moment, you've got to know_

Naruto breathed in and out, his nerves were raw. She could sense that much from him, though what he was singing, it was beautiful. She had never known that he could sing like this, where was this song from? Who could have taught this to Naruto? She had no idea, but knew that this song had to mean something to him if he knew it. Maybe, it was a song that he had heard as a child, but couldn't remember where it was that he had heard it.

 _I never wanted something more, and never felt so sure,  
'Cause now I've got this chance to be, everything you saw in me  
And even more than I ever dreamed before,  
As long as you are here with me, I know that I can be something more_

Twirling around softly, Naruto dipped Hinata gently, he had a soft smile on his face. It was rather odd that this song seemed to reflect what Naruto had gone through. Either both in the palace or when he lived with his father, she couldn't be sure. There was still so much that she didn't know about his childhood, and, honestly she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything about him, wanting to learn everything about Naruto.

About what makes him happy, what makes him sad, angry, and filled with love and joy. There was just much that she wanted to know, but couldn't be sure if she would ever have enough time to learn everything. After all, he was a demon, and he lived far longer than she would but, she would gladly live her life just to make sure that he was happy and knew that he was always loved.

 _Looking back now it's so clear to me,  
That you were sent to shape my destiny  
'Cause there were times when I was ready to walk away,  
But you gave me strength to face another day  
I wanna take this time to thank you for the love you gave  
And from this moment, you've got to know_

Leaning his head closer to Hinata's, Naruto buried his face against her neck, not in a sensual way but more like, he was just sniffing her? She had heard that demon's try to memorize the scents of those close to them. If they were ever separated from them that they would use their scent to track them down. Was that what Naruto was doing with her? So he could know where she was in case they got separated in battle or just got lost if they ever went on a mission? Maybe, though Hinata couldn't lie it tickled a little when he did that. His soft breath tickling the skin of her neck, making her snicker a little.

 _I never wanted something more, and never felt so sure,  
'Cause now I've got this chance to be, everything you saw in me  
And even more than I ever dreamed before,  
As long as you are here with me, I know that I can be something more_

Pulling themselves back up, Naruto spun Hinata, allowing her body to fall back against his arm before pulling her back to his chest. He stared down at her, his blue eyes soft and shining in the light of the full moon. Hinata couldn't help but stare at him with her eyes wide. He looked so… so…surreal… The way the moon shined upon them, making it seemed as if he was glowing in the soft light that it almost made him look like a celestial being that should be in the heavens. And yet, here he was, dancing and singing, for her… for them.

 _I reaching for the sky, won't let this chance go by  
I've waited all my life for something more,  
And now's the time you're gonna see,  
From this moment you're gonna know_

Looking up just a little past Naruto, Hinata saw cherry blossoms flying by. Heading toward the moon, though in a way it made her think that they were dancing for them. Dancing, showing her that she should take a chance and be happy with Naruto. That she had to be happy just so she could be with him. Though, could she be with him? Would people only torment Naruto all that much more because he was with her? A warrior of the five and him being a demon? Should she allow this to get as far as it has?

Or, should she just see where it goes? So far, she didn't see the harm of it all. She had to see where it, this, takes them. He was worth the risk to at least see what this could blossom into. Smiling gently, Hinata laid her head against the fox demon's chest, she could faintly feel the fur of Naruto's tails as they wrapped around her. Wanting to protect her from the chill of the night.

 _I never wanted something more, and never felt so sure,  
'Cause now I've got this chance to be, everything you saw in me  
And even more than I ever dreamed before,  
As long as you are here with me, I know that I can be something more_

Smiling gently, Hinata let out a soft sigh of content, she could enjoy her time with him. For as long as it would last, she would want to enjoy it forever if that was possible. Looking up at Naruto, she just smiled up at him and watched as the two of them just seemed to be lost in their own world. Hinata and Naruto pulled back as they stared at each other. Eyes sparkling with a buried emotion that they didn't think they could ever feel for someone. Not like this, it was so new, so foreign and yet so very welcomed.

 _You make me want to be something more  
You make me want to be something more_

Both of them started to lean in toward each other, eyes slowly closing as they got closer, and closer. Hinata could feel Naruto's breath over her lips as they got closer. Could she do this? Was it too soon? Ah screw it she would gladly kiss Naruto, it was what her heart wanted. He, was what her heart wanted, he was the only one that could ever make her feel this way. Even though they haven't known each other that long, she could feel like she could give her heart to him.

"Hinata!" shouted a voice, causing Hinata and Naruto jumped back in shock. Standing there, was Jiraiya. His black eyes narrowed though he wasn't angry that the two of them was about to kiss. In fact, he seemed panicked. She could see it in his eyes as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Master, what's the matter?" asked Hinata with a frown on her face.

"We have trouble. I will have to take Naruto away to train. We have a problem on our hands." Said Jiraiya with a sigh. There was no way that this was going to be any good. Was this what she had always feared that would happen? Could it be true that the time for the destiny of The Furious Fox was needed to be filled at long last? "Naruto, I will need you to come with me to the mountain. I know I haven't trained you but I thought I could avoid this at all costs but sadly, this may have put thousands in danger."

Oh god it was. It was really happening after all these years. "Master, you couldn't possibly mean what I think it is do you?" Hinata said, fear in her voice as she watched his head nod.

"I'm afraid so Hinata, I had hoped that this would never come to pass, yet sadly it is as both Kakashi and I have feared after all these years but…" Jiraiya closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped as a great weight seemed to have been placed on his shoulders. "Obito Uchiha has finally escaped, and he is coming for us all."


	16. Training and Power of Protection

Naruto couldn't believe this. He had to climb some huge mountain so he and Jiraiya could complete his training. They had little time to spend goofing off, better yet, they had no time to goof off at all. Breathing deeply, the young man followed the white haired man that was before him. He couldn't believe that Jiraiya was willing to train him though, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. He still remembered what had happened before he had been forced to come up here…

 _"What do you mean Obito is coming here!? I thought he was in jail!" Shouted Naruto with wide eyes. He had heard many tales about Obito, not all of them were good. He had heard that Obito was a great warrior, someone driven by honour until something drove him over the edge and he had gone bad. Losing his heart and morals so he could be the ultimate warrior and do all he could and what he wanted, when he wanted. Yet, the only thing that he couldn't do, was become the Furious Fox._

 _Many had tried to stop him, and all of them had failed. No one never knew that Obito had grown that powerful but even he could be defeated by a warrior that was much stronger. A warrior that no one knew could still fight in his age._

 _Grand Master Hiruzen._

 _Hiruzen was able to block Obito's chakra points, causing him to black out from the lack of flowing chakra in his body. Naruto didn't want to fight him, he couldn't beat anyone, fuck he couldn't even control his own powers and abilities! "Why don't you get Master Hiruzen to fight him? He beat him once he can do it again!"_

 _"He can't! He's gone Naruto, he died in his sleep!" shouted Jiraiya, causing the two adults to freeze in shock. He was dead? But, he had just seen him that morning and now… Tightly shutting his eyes, Naruto was about to open his mouth only for it to be shut by Jiraiya's voice. "Naruto, you are to be the Furious Fox, I have to train you hard so you can fulfill your destiny!"_

 _"What are you talking about?! For crying out loud I can't beat Obito, I'm not strong, I'm not powerful, I'm just a weak ass demon who can't control his powers!" shouted Naruto before he went to make a break for it. Only for Jiraiya to rushed forward and blocked his path. Naruto growled at him, his eyes flashed red for a moment before he went to run in the other direction… only to be blocked yet again. "Let me go! I can't beat him!" shouted the young man._

 _Narrowing his dark eyes, the old master just let out a frustrated breath as he went on with what was on his mind. "I don't like you brat. But my master has faith in you so I shall train you, out of the faith and trust I had in my master." He grabbed Naruto by the shirt as he said "Now, I am going to train you, you are going to learn how to control your powers and then, you will fight and beat Obito Uchiha before he kills us all."_

 _"Right, no fucking pressure." Naruto grumbled before letting out a soft sigh. He didn't think that he would get out of this one. There was no way that he could beat Obito as he was now. Turning to Hinata, he saw the pleading look on her face, he knew that if he couldn't fight for himself, then he'd fight for her. The only person here that had never lost faith in him. Even if it was for a moment, she never lost that faith in her heart and for that, he was thankful._

 _Giving her a faint smile, the young man turned back to Jiraiya as he said "Fine, I'll go and train. But I won't like it." Jiraiya nodded his head and started to walk away. Telling the fox demon to grab his things and pack up what he believed he'd need for their trip. The young man turned to Hinata once more as he said "I'm sorry Hinata. If it wasn't for the fact that Jiraiya wants to train me now I wouldn't leave you." He gave her a sad smile before lowering his head._

 _He turned away, his back facing the blue haired woman. Someone that he had given his heart too… Though personally he found it odd that he had given his heart to her but, there was just that part of himself that felt like Hinata was the only thing that meant anything to him. Soon, he felt something on his shoulder, causing him to turn his head and stared at the smiling face of Hinata. "Naruto," she began, her smile still soft yet loving. "I understand, fate and destiny may say one thing, but you can still make it yours." She sighed softly and leaned over before kissing the young man's cheek._

 _The fox demon's cheeks went red, his ears stood up erect as he just stared at her with wide eyes. Did she really just kiss his cheek? There was no way that he could be dreaming this, not even in his wildest dreams he wouldn't have been able to dream this up. Taking a deep breath, Naruto gave Hinata a confident smile as he said "I'll try as hard as I can to make my fate mine and mine alone Hinata." He chuckled a little before he started to make his way to the palace so he could get started on packing._

 _Though if he was honest with himself, he was starting to have doubts. It just seemed so out there that he would have to fight Obito now of all times. After all, he had just started to get along with everyone, yet there had to be more to this task than meets the eye. Maybe it was a test on the road of his life that he had to face. "I'll find out at some point." He mumbled to himself._

Naruto looked around the mountain, it was beautiful. In the middle was a lake though the land just spiral in the middle of the lake. It was strange to see a formation like that but it just seemed to work for this area. This area itself had this strange mystic vibration to it all. Turning his head, he saw a sakura tree in the distance and it was in full bloom. He wasn't sure what it was but even the tree seemed to have some kind of mystic power to it. Yet, it also looked like the one that he sees in his mind with Kurama.

Turning to the white haired man with him, the young man saw that Jiraiya was setting his bag aside and turned back to the crimson and blonde haired man. "Enjoying the view?" Asked Jiraiya.

Naruto could only nod his head as he went back to gazing. There was no way that this place could be real. Blinking his blue eyes in awe and wonder, the young man asked "Where are we?" He wanted to know, wanted to know where this place was or what it was. Why were they here in the first place? "What is this place anyway?" he asked with a frown.

Jiraiya just stared at Naruto for a brief moment. "This is the birth place of chakra. The Sage of Six Paths had created this area long ago. This is the place where he had found the power of the body, spirit, and mind. With that, he could create this place and even though the sage is long gone, the Sacred Grounds of Chakra, you can feel his power still in the area. Even now, you can almost feel as if he is secretly training you."

Naruto just frowned a bit. Was the sage really that powerful or was it just a story that had been passed down in the centuries? Shaking his head, the young man asked "So, why did you bring me here?"

"To train you of course. I have to teach you how to fight." With that said, the older man rushed forward and punched Naruto in the face. Naruto yelped as he went flying and rolled on the ground. Just what the hell was that for?! He looked up and saw that the older man was rushing at him again. There was no way that he would be able to fight a master! Eyes widening, he jumped out of the way and rolled onto his hands and feet before he got another look that was ahead of him. "It seems you are good at dodging, but what about blocking!" Shouted the older man as he once more rushed, before Naruto could react Jiraiya kicked Naruto in the ribs. The force of the kick had sent him flying into a tree.

Groaning, Naruto felt pain going through his body for a moment. Thanks to his demon blood the pain was fading without a problem. Breathing deeply, his eyes glowed crimson for a moment as he said "I don't know how this is training but damn it stop it!" The glow faded for a moment before he saw the older man rushing at him again. He pushed himself up and tried to block the hit this time. Yet, once more, Naruto found himself in more pain as he felt the white haired man's fist hit his stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of his lungs.

Leaning against the tree, Naruto had his arms around his stomach as he tried to regain his breath. The older man glared down at Naruto as he said "You are a demon yet you act human. All demons and humans know how to fight but it depends on their style choice and abilities. You have yet to show any talent." Jiraiya said before picking up Naruto by his shirt and glared down at him once more. "But you were too afraid to fight weren't you?"

His blue eyes just stared at the older man. Fear was in his gaze, showing that what Jiraiya had said was true. He was afraid to fight, even though he wanted to fight to protect those dear to him, it still scared him. Scared him that he would end up losing control and hurt his loved ones rather than protect them. Breathing deeply, Naruto tightly shut his eyes as he thought about what would happen if he lost control. How he would end up ripping them to shreds without a single sign of remorse or guilt. It constricted in his heart as he tried to get himself to calm down.

Jiraiya punched Naruto in the face, causing the young man to growl at him in anger. "Stop hitting me!" he shouted before he went to punch Jiraiya. Only for the older man to catch it with ease. Naruto couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes, there was no way that this could be happening. He had to train with this man, and get beat up before he even learns anything?! Just what the fuck is with this guy in the first place! "What the fuck is wrong with you anyway?! Do you hate demons or do you just hate me?!"

"I hate all demons." Jiraiya answered honestly before he dropped Naruto, allowing the young man to hit the ground. Turning away, he said "Or at least, I hate full-blooded demons." He grumbled so low that Naruto almost didn't hear him. What did he mean by full-blooded demons? Were there other half-demons that were like Kurama's child that he didn't know about? Tilting his head to the side, Naruto pushed himself up, hoping to get all of his bearings together as he tried to breathe a little easier now that the older man wasn't beating the shit out of him.

"That doesn't answer much. Why do you hate demons?!" growled Naruto with a glare.

Dark eyes glared at him for a moment. It almost made Naruto regret asking him in the first place. "Years ago, my old student Obito lost control over himself from his hate, anger, guilt, and remorse from the loss of Rin." He let out a soft sigh before he turned away. "Obito tried to destroy the village with demons, but he was stopped by grandmaster Hiruzen, and he placed a barrier around the village to help keep demons out so we could have peace." Turning back, he said "There is a chance that Obito is going to try that again. As soon as he gets the scroll of the Furious Fox, he will try to rule the village and maybe kill us all…"

"But what does that have to do with me?" asked Naruto.

"Because it was said by the Sage of Six Paths that a chosen warrior would stop the evil in this world. Master Hiruzen believed it to be you." Jiraiya said with a sigh before he turned away.

"What makes you think that I can do it? What if I'm not strong enough?" Asked Naruto.

"If you can't beat him, then everyone will die Naruto." Jiraiya answered before turning around and glared at him. "Think about it. Everyone will be killed if you don't beat him. Your father, Hinata, the rest of the Five, everyone will be dead and you will have no one to blame but yourself because you failed." Jiraiya said with a harsh glare. Personally, Naruto knew that, a part of him knew that if he had failed that everyone he knew and loved will be killed off. If this was destiny, or fate, whatever, then he would have to make sure that he fulfilled it even though he didn't want to.

Breathing deeply, the young man closed his eyes in shame. He knew that the battle hadn't even started yet. Yet, he could feel the guilt starting to form in his heart. The young man knew that he couldn't allow that to happen to anyone. Even now, he could picture their bodies… dead, covered in blood and had deep gashes covering their entire body. The bodies of Hinata, his father, the villagers. The thought of it made his blood go cold. Felt like ice was flowing through his veins instead of blood.

Tightly shutting his eyes, the young man whimpered a little as he said "I can't let that happen. I don't want to lose anyone. Not again, not ever again…"

"What do you mean again?" asked Jiraiya.

"Dunno, just came out." Naruto answered honestly as he opened his eyes. Staring at Jiraiya as he said "I just don't want anyone to die because I couldn't protect them." Letting out a soft sigh, the young man scratched the back of his head as he tried to think on how he could fight. Just how was it that he would be able to fight the first time? It just didn't make sense to him. Looking up, he said "The only time I ever really fought was when I protected my father's shop."

"Oh?" Jiraiya seemed intrigued. "Tell me, what happened to cause you to fight? What was going through your mind?" Naruto frowned a little, okay that was a little odd though but okay. The young man went over the memory of what had happened. His father was going to be robbed, and he did the only thing that he could think of doing at the time. Protect his father and his shop. He fought to keep his father safe along with the shop, and all the people that were within the shop. That was the only thing that had gone through his mind, it was to protect his father's shop and for that he was able to beat the men that were in the shop. Sure, everyone else didn't thank him for what he had done, but his father greatly appreciated what he had done.

Jiraiya crossed his arms in deep thought. Naruto didn't like the look that he saw on the man, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with what it was that he had said. "It seems, that you gain a strange ability to fight when you are protecting someone close to you. At the time, you are protecting your father, I want you to picture that Naruto. Picture that you are protecting your father or even Hinata. That may be the key to get you to learn how to fight."

Naruto frowned a little but shrugged his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he tried to envision himself trying to protect his father and Hinata. There was no way that he was going to let any kind of harm come to them, though he just hoped that he would be able to keep them safe from Obito. He felt something coming his way. He could hear the wind around him moving, the wind was trying to tell him something.

Eyes snapping open, the young man noticed that a fist was aimed at his face. Narrowing his eyes, he reached up quickly and grabbed a hold of Jiraiya's fist and flipped him over his shoulder with little, to no effort. Though, Jiraiya had expected that and flipped himself into the air and landed on his hands, and went to kick Naruto in the back, only causing the young man to block it with his arm, twisting his hands around to grab a hold of the man's leg and throw him aside.

Jiraiya went flying for a moment before he flipped through the air and landed on his feet. Chuckling a little, the older man dusted himself off before walking over to Naruto. "Interesting, it seems that I have found something that will help with your training, you gain a great amount of skill when you are trying to protect someone other than yourself." Rubbing his shoulder, the older man walked past Naruto as he added "Come Naruto, we have much we have to do in order to finish your training. After this, you won't need to keep thinking about protecting but it will be merely something to give you an extra boost of power when needed."

He hoped that would be the case. All his life, Naruto knew that he couldn't fight back because he would hurt people who didn't deserve to be beaten. Even if it was to protect himself… yet when he protected his father, he didn't care. All he wanted was to keep his father safe and nothing more. Taking a deep breath, Naruto followed Jiraiya, knowing fully well that he would be in for a world of pain but knew, that this was the only to complete his training. Though, he just hoped that it wouldn't be too late by the time he was done.

* * *

 **I am so sorry that I haven't posted anything for a while, I have been meaning too but I just got a new kitten and Marshal (new kitten) was very clingy the first few weeks I got him, he still is mind you but not as much as before. When he isn't playing with Luna (other cat) or eating, drinking, using the litter box, he is on me asleep, moving around blocking my view of my laptop or trying to play with my hands while they're on the keyboard and stepping on the keys in the progress. Other than that, I have been trying to get into a lot of shifts at work with either just one day off, or none. Its my day off since I had to spend my last one washing my clothes at a laundry mat then going to work with little sleep, so I am gonna try to enjoy this as much as I can, later!**


	17. A Terrible Past

Naruto was breathing heavily. He hadn't expected for the training to be this hard. Looking up, he was sitting on his hands and knees as he tried to get his body to stop aching. It felt like someone had a thousand horses ran over his body. Shakily standing back on his feet, the young man felt his muscles screaming at him, wanting him to stop. Just wanting him to relax before he would try to work out on his training some more.

"You are doing well Naruto, but you are trying to use your powers far too much." Jiraiya with a frown on his face. Jiraiya ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of something that would help him. "You need to fight more like a human Naruto. You can't use your demonic chakra, we don't know what will happen if you do. For all we know, you could end up going berserk and killing everyone instead of protecting them." Honestly, that did scare Naruto. He didn't want to lose control, in the past of him losing control he was just afraid.

Nodding his head, the young man pushed himself up as he asked "What do you mean? How can I not use my demonic chakra?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion. It just seemed impossible for him to not use his 'demonic' chakra. "How can I not use it when I'm a demon?"

"You have human blood within you. After all, you have a human parent do you not?" asked Jiraiya with an eyebrow raised.

"I do… My dad hasn't really spoken about my mother so I don't know whatever happened to her." Then Naruto lowered her gaze as he added "I think I may look more like my mother since I don't look anything like my dad. I just wonder why he refuses to speak about her." Naruto sighed softly before sitting on the grass as he stared at his claws. Frowning a little, the young man shook his head as he said "Think we could take a break?"

"Sure." Jiraiya said with a sigh.

Naruto smiled a little, happy that he could at least take a break. Though, there was one thing that had been nagging at him since he had heard about Obito. The stories that he had heard as a child, made him wonder one thing, and one thing only. "How did… how did Obito go bad and try to take over the village?" Asked Naruto with a frown on his face. His eyes showing nothing but curiosity, though at the same time he was worried, worried that he was only bringing nothing but bad memories. In fact, the pure look of pain and torment on Jiraiya's face was enough to make the younger man retract his question.

Jiraiya let out a soft sigh as he gazed up at the sky. Naruto felt like he wasn't going to get an answer, until Jiraiya finally spoke. "It all started after Rin died…"

 _"Obito, are you alright?" asked Jiraiya with a frown. It had been a few days since Rin's death and Obito had seemed to close himself off in his room. Kakashi had been on his own little mission at the time wanting to go to a village that he had been to once before when he was younger. For now it was just Jiraiya and Obito, and Jiraiya was growing worried. "Come out of your room Obito, please." Jiraiya said with a sigh._

 _Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya slowly opened the door and just stared at the young teenager as he saw something that had surprised Jiraiya. There was Obito, staring at his reflection though what had surprised him was his eyes. Obito's eyes were red with black tomas within them. He had awakened his sharingan at long last. Had it been due to losing the girl he loved for so long. Obito was a bit of a short teenager, he had spikey black hair and normally, he had pure black eyes._

 _Obito turned to stare at his teacher as he said "I don't know what happened Master Jiraiya. I just… just… I don't know, my eyes just changed." Jiraiya knew though, he knew that it was due to Rin's death that had caused this. "I don't know what to do." Walking over to his student, the older man patted his student's bare shoulder as he tried to calm him down. Though, it seemed that the younger man just couldn't stop shaking, his hands were tightly gripping his black pants as he tried to stop himself from shaking from the fear that he was feeling._

 _"You're family bloodline had awakened due to the trauma of her death."_

 _"Don't talk about her like that!" shouted Obito as he turned and glared at his teacher. The red of his eyes glowing in the dim light. Jiraiya didn't think that he could move, in fact he didn't think that someone could make him freeze like this. The young man seemed to have calmed down before he turned away. "I'm sorry Master." He turned away, lowering his gaze onto his black clad lap as he tried to get his eyes to return to normal._

 _Jiraiya let out a soft sigh, he knew that he had to do something for his student. Obito hadn't been as powerful as Kakashi, or even as bright as Rin. Yet, he had one thing that was more powerful than many people could ever have. He had heart and he would be trained to be a powerful member of the palace. "I'll train you Obito, I know how you can learn to control your eyes and I can make sure you are powerful enough to control it, and protect it."_

 _Obito looked back up and blinked his sharingan eyes before he smiled. "I can be powerful? Maybe even enough to be the Furious Fox?" Jiraiya chuckled a little as he nodded his head. Obito just smiled, for the first time in days he would be able to smile. Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh in relief, for he had begun Obito's training then and there._

* * *

 _It had taken him five years to do the training. Obito was growing more and more powerful each and every day. Doing missions that helped to increase his power and strength. Jiraiya couldn't lie, for it seemed that Obito was becoming a true hero. Something that even Kakashi couldn't do. Yet, over the years, Obito's grief only grew for he could never let go of the love he had for Rin._

 _Obito seemed to have changed as well over the years. With his training, he seemed to have grown to lose the heart that he once had. Yet, Jiraiya was losing face of that. All he cared about was his training. "Obito, it is time to see Grandmaster Hiruzen."_

 _"So I may get the scroll at long last Master Jiraiya?" Asked Obito with a smirk on his face. Jiraiya frowned a little, feeling a little sad that Obito didn't have that bright smile that he used to have upon his face. It just seemed that almost all of the good in Obito had disappeared and left his body. Had losing Rin made him just go… dark?_

 _"Yes Obito, for I believe that you have the strength needed to be the Furious Fox." Jiraiya said with a smile as he led the younger man to the grand hall where Hiruzen and the scroll was kept. He just couldn't wait, for Jiraiya had waited for this day himself. A day where the village would always be protected for all time. Though there was a strange feeling at the back of his mind that was telling him something. Something that wanted him to run from a strange danger that was coming from behind him._

 _He just shrugged it off, the only thing that mattered to him was that the scroll was finally going to meet its purpose at long last. Inhaling softly, the young man opened the gates that lead to the grand hall and smiled happily. "Master Hiruzen, I have brought Obito, for I believe he is the chosen warrior."_

 _Hiruzen stared at Obito and frowned a little. Obito wore a simple black muscle shirt and long tight black pants, and of course he was bare foot. Obito's hair had grown a little over the years from his training, his body filled out in muscle. He was powerful, that was indeed true but there was one thing wrong with the whole thing. Obito had no light left in his heart, all there was, was darkness and no more room for love within his heart. When Rin died, he had closed off his heart to others around him._

 _Honestly, the boy did help people around the village. He saved people but the only thing that the man cared about, was power and strength. His eyes had indeed grow in power though still not at the maximum power that it could withhold. Closing his eyes, Hiruzen said "I am sorry Obito, but you are not the chosen warrior." With that, he started to walk away, leaving a stunned Obito and shocked Jiraiya behind._

 _"Obito I am sorry." Jiraiya said with a frown on his face._

 _Obito growled a little before he turned and shove Jiraiya aside. "Get out of my way!" He shouted, his voice filled with anger and a rage that he never knew that he could ever see someone possess. Obito's eyes glowed crimson as he started to walk away. It made Jiraiya wonder what he was going to do, though figured that he should meditate, maybe there was something else his student could become that would make up for this._

 _Jiraiya had started to meditate, trying to think of what he could do to help his student. The only thing he could think of, was that Obito could be a teacher for the true warrior, if he came in this generation. Or even leave a scroll so he could help the warrior when the time came. Yes, that could work out for the warrior, if it wasn't chosen in this life time. Breathing softly, the older man pushed himself up and made his way out of the hall so he could go and talk to his student._

 _Taking a look outside, he saw that it was night time. Frowning, he made his way around the palace as he went to see where he was. It seemed that he had gone to the library to read upon his eyes. Or so says one of the guards of the palace. Frowning, Jiraiya made his way toward the library, wondering what it was that Obito would want to know about his eyes. There shouldn't be anything else to know about the Sharingan in the first place._

 _"Obito?" He called out, wondering if he was still here._

 _"Yes master…" whispered Obito, his voice sounding a little ominous._

 _Jiraiya walked around the corner as he stared at the back of his student with a frown upon his face. "I thought of something that you could do Obito. Since you were not chosen, I thought you could be the Chosen's teacher, if it is meant to be in this life time." He tried to sound happy, tried to make the idea sound exciting. Though, all he got was silence. Jiraiya was concerned, and confused as to why Obito wasn't speaking, it just seemed that the last shred of Obito had disappeared with the rejection of being The Furious Fox._

 _"Obito, are you alright?" He asked with concern._

 _Obito slowly turned around, and stared at the older man with a sickenly wide twisted grin. His eyes glowing in the dim candle light as he just smiled all the more. Jiraiya backed away, almost afraid of his student at the moment. "Oh, hello Master! I was just doing some research on my eyes. It seems, there is another power to my eyes that no one has ever tried in over a few hundred years." He chuckled softly, before setting down the scroll as he whispered "I have a better path that I can do in life. I just have to gather a few… allies." He chuckled a little more before he started to walk away, at least he did until Jiraiya grabbed a hold of his wrist._

 _Jiraiya couldn't allow this to happen, he couldn't allow this to go on. How could he have spiraled into darkness so quickly just because he was rejected? "You can't do this Obito. Why? Is this all because you weren't chosen?"_

 _"Oh, it's more than that." He said with a laugh before he broke free of his teacher's grip and started to walk away. No, he couldn't allow this to happen, he rushed toward Obito trying to stop him. Only for Obito to spin kick his teacher away and laughed. "You can't stop me master. I'm more powerful than you could EVER be!" Jiraiya groaned as he tried to push himself up as he went to speak, but the pain he felt wasn't allowing the words to escape._

 _Obito laughed before he disappeared into the night._

 _Jiraiya had spent a few days trying to find his student, wanting to find, and stop the very thing that he had created. Though, no matter what he does, he just couldn't find him. At least, until the day came that Jiraiya knew that he could never forget, no matter how long he lives, this day would forever haunt him._

 _At the edge of the village, stood Obito with an army of demons residing behind him. Jiraiya had managed to get Grandmaster Hiruzen because if anyone could help stop Obito, it was him. The once proud hero just stood at the edge of the village, his eyes glowing in the darkness. "Obito, stop this madness!" Shouted Jiraiya._

 _"Why should I? I should have been the Furious Fox, you made me that promise while I trained until my bones cracked! While I strained my eyes just to get them stronger and this is how you repay me?! With me not getting the title of the chosen warrior!" He narrowed his eyes, he added "With me not being able to get the dream I've ever wanted to make it up to Rin for allowing her to die!" He narrowed his eyes as he added "You can go fuck yourselves!"_

 _As soon as those words were said, he rushed forward to attack. Jiraiya went to attack, wanting to correct the mistake he made with Obito. For giving him so many empty promises, for telling him things that he shouldn't have that only brought him empty hope. A dream that he would never be able to achieve. This was his mistake, and he had to correct it before it was too late._

 _Obito's eyes flashed, causing the older man to freeze as if time around him had started to slow down. Though he knew that it was impossible. What was this that was happening to him? Obito smirked before he seemed to have kept running, as soon as Jiraiya was sure that Obito would just topple him, he just seemed to have phased right through him. As if he wasn't there in the first place. The white haired master just couldn't believe that this had happened, he turned and stared at his student and his teacher as he went to shout at them. He can't let his teacher get killed for his mistake!_

 _"Master!" shouted Jiraiya._

 _Before anything more could be said, the grandmaster shot his hand out and was able to hit a pressure point that had caused him to fall over out cold. Jiraiya just stared in shock, though soon his gaze fell upon the demons that were snarling at the two older men. "Jiraiya, stand behind me." Said the older man as he walked over and stood in front of Jiraiya. He mumbled a few words under his breath, causing the younger man to stare in shock as he watched his master glow in a bright light of chakra. A shield was starting to form from the ground up, he watched as the shield started to form around and over the village._

 _"Master, what did you do?" asked Jiraiya with shock on his face._

 _"I created a barrier, no demon shall be able to enter this village. So long as no one with amazing power breaks the shield, the village shall be safe." He looked down at the unconscious man near his feet as he said "We shall tie him up and send him to prison. I am sorry Jiraiya."_

 _Jiraiya stared at the young man for one moment before he looked away. He couldn't bear the idea that his student had turned evil, couldn't stand the thought that, even though he had good intentions that it ended up with Obito becoming evil. Inhaling deeply, he whispered "Just… send him away. I must talk to the others about Obito's situation." Honestly, this was something that he was dreading with all of his heart. He didn't think that he would be able to tell anyone the truth about his pain, but he knew, just knew that he wouldn't be able to be the same man that he was after this. The whole experience of Obito's 'transformation' from a good hearted boy, to an evil man was far too much for the master. He knew that this was only the beginning of the new world, where demons would never be able to break through to attack the village, but he wondered if anyone would be able to live a peaceful life even with the barrier. So many things had gone through his head at the time, though he just knew that he would have to be careful._

 _From that moment on though, his life had never been the same. He never smiled, never showing kindness to anyone and was rough toward anyone that dared to try to come into his life. Jiraiya knew that he didn't want to feel like this again. Never… again._

Naruto could only stare with wide eyes, he had no idea that was something that Obito went through something like that. It must have hurt the master more than h had let on. To see a student becoming a monster like that, it must have hurt a great deal. Turning away, he wondered, if it had something to do with his eyes, the Sharingan that had caused this, or it had only been the beginning for the man. It must have started with that Rin girl's death for him to have spiraled down that dark path.

"Naruto, promise me that you won't use your demon chakra. I don't want to go through the pain again." Jiraiya said with a sigh before he held out something that looked like a normal bracer that would wrap around his arm. Tilting his head, the young man looked up as he stared at the white haired master with confusion in his blue eyes. "This is something that will restrain your demonic chakra. You have a mixture Naruto, you have a mix of human and demon chakra. I don't know what your demon chakra will do to you, so please, keep this on."

Naruto frowned a little more but nodded. Personally, he didn't want to deal with the pain of losing himself to his demonic self. Inhaling softly, the young man reached over and grabbed the bracer and slid it on over his forearm as he stared at the gold metal as it clung to his arm as if it was meant for him. Maybe destiny had thrown him into some weird fate, but he knew that this was something that had to be done. He had to do this, and he would make sure that nothing ever got in the way.

"Master, I won't turn into Obito. Unlike him I don't have power of the 'eyes' but I do have other abilities. I don't have to worry about anything." He smiled at the older man, hoping to ease some of this worries away. He couldn't, and wouldn't become what Obito was, the difference was that Obito had an army of demons behind him, Naruto himself, was only one demon that had no one behind him in the least. At least, not like that. If he would have his own army, it would be that it would be out of trust, not control. Though, what confused him was that Obito could control demons. "How could he control demons in the first place?"

Turning away, Jiraiya calmly answered the younger man. "Obito's eyes have the power to remove a demon's self-control and revert them to their basic instincts. They would attack and kill anyone that he wanted them to." Lowering his gaze, he added "Though, I didn't think he would have tried something like that since no one in his family had tried that for so long that it was left forgotten in time." He rubbed his forehead as he added "Do not worry. It shouldn't work on you, the power only works on pure blooded demons."

"Pure blooded?"

"Demons that have no human blood with them. You Naruto, you seem to have human blood in you." Jiraiya said with a smile.

Makes sense, his father is human so it would just make a lot of sense. Though, he couldn't help but wonder what had made him human besides his father. No, Iruka was his father, no matter what. "So, because I have human blood within me, I don't have to worry about anything about it right? I won't have to worry about being controlled?" Jiraiya nodded his head as Naruto went on. "Well, that is one less thing to worry about now." He chuckled a little before he stretched his arms above his head and looked up at the sky.

Yup, he wouldn't have to worry about being controlled so that was a plus. Though the battle itself would still be hard since Obito had a life time of training. Naruto himself, hadn't had that long of training at the moment. Breathing softly, Naruto said "I'm ready to go back to some training Master Jiraiya." He chuckled a little, thinking that if he was going to fight an ex-hero that he may as well be as prepared as he was ever going to be.

Jiraiya looked up at the younger man for a moment before he let out a chuckle. Naruto was a lot different compared to Obito. For that, he was grateful. Though he couldn't help but wonder what he would have brought into his life after this fight. There was still so many possibilities that would happen. If the prophecy was true, then there was still a chance of Naruto being turned evil, though he knew that there was also a chance of him beating Obito and saving the village. Just like how Grandmaster Hiruzen had said would happen.

"Alright Naruto, we'll get back to training but remember, I may have to increase the level a little bit to get you done sooner." Jiraiya said with a small laugh and a smile on his face. Personally, Naruto didn't care, that was the only thing that he knew would allow him to get through the rest of this training mission. He just hoped though, that it would be enough to beat Obito in the end of this.

Inhaling softly, Naruto flexed his fingers as he said "I am ready for what you bring Master Jiraiya." He smirked a little as he rushed forward. A battle this was going to be alright, and he didn't have to worry about losing himself since Jiraiya no longer felt anger or hate toward the blonde and crimson haired man. Now all he had to do was make sure that he finished his training and looked at the scroll himself. It did have him curious, what was the secret to being the Furious Fox in the first place?

Only time would tell.


	18. Human Chakra

Naruto laid on the grass as he gazed up at the sky. It was the last night on the mountain for his training, and honestly, he was thankful. It wasn't that the training was too tough for him now… Far from it honestly, it was that he had a bad feeling welling up within him. Was Hinata okay? Or was she worried about him while he was away on his training mission? Closing his eyes for a brief moment, the young man wondered what would happen when Obito came to the village… could he beat him? Or would he end up being defeated himself?

Jiraiya had said that his training was done. That he could fight like a real human could now. Yet… would that be enough to beat Obito? He was mostly demon from what he could tell. After all, he's never once fully turned human unless he lost all of his demonic power, which is rare. Would he have to give up being a demon all together to fight Obito? Or would there be a better answer to this in the end?

"Ugh! So many questions going through my head!" Naruto growled out only to slam a hand over his mouth. No, he can't growl… he isn't supposed to act like a demon anymore… He has to be like a human. It's why the bracer was still on his arm. It repressed all of his demonic powers, draining him a great deal. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't heard Kurama lately… Did the bracer blocked him as well? That was kind of sad, he liked listening to him because Kurama, was the only one that knew about his demonic powers and who could train him in it.

Reaching over to it, Naruto gently grabbed a hold of the bracer, rubbing against the cold metal as he thought about Kurama. Maybe Kurama is banging around in his chakra or something trying to break free. Closing his eyes, the young man pushed himself up after moving his hand away from the bracer. He didn't think that he would have to wait anymore, but he could sense it faintly. Something was coming, and he knew it was Obito. As for how long, he had no idea. Wait, how was he still able to sense something if he had no demonic power right now?

"Naruto." Came a voice, causing Naruto to yelp and turn around. Standing there behind him was Jiraiya, wide awake as well. Had he been so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the older man behind him until now? "You alright?" He asked with a frown on his face, concerned for his student. In all honesty, it was the first time he had ever seen a real emotion on the older man's face for a while now. But, it was still a lot better than the scowl that the man had when they first met.

Straightening himself up, Naruto nodded his head as he said "I'm fine, just deep in thought sir." Jiraiya chuckled a little before he walked over to the younger man. "Jiraiya, what are you to teach me now?" Asked Naruto with a frown on his face.

"Well, you have learned to fight like a human, not relying on your demon chakra thanks to the bracer. But, I sense little human chakra from you, so I'm thinking that maybe we need to do some meditation for you to unlock your human chakra." Okay, that made sense to him, after all he had to do that to gather up his demonic chakra. Why not his human chakra? Though, it did have him a little curious, what was he to do? Just the same thing as last time or was he supposed to do something else this time?

"Just sit by the water. Close your eyes and open your mind and heart. You should be able to connect to your chakra this time." Jiraiya said with a smile on his face.

Frowning a little, Naruto shrugged his shoulders, thinking that would work. Didn't sound too hard for him, so that would give him something to do. Breathing softly, the young man walked over to the lake and sat down before crossing his legs, resting his palms on his knees and closing his eyes. Breathing in, and out a few times, wanting to open his mind like Jiraiya had said. Though, opening his heart would be a little harder for him, but he knew that he had to be careful at the same time.

"Jiraiya, how would I know that this works in the first place?" he asked, wondering what would happen when he did open his heart and mind. Sure, with Kurama, he was able to do it without a problem and just found himself in the field still but with Kurama standing before him. This time though, it was going to be hard so say. Though, for all he knew he could end up in a dark room that never had an ending, or a beginning. Maybe like a void or something along those lines. Breathing deeply, Naruto tried again to relax, though it was starting to get to him when Jiraiya didn't respond to him at all. "Jiraiya, aren't you going to say something to me here? I wanna know how I would know."

Growling a little, Naruto opened his eyes as he went to speak his mind to the older man, thinking that he was being ignored but, when he opened his eyes he found himself in an area similar area to Kurama, but for some reason it was only missing the sakura tree. Instead, he found himself in a field of sunflowers. "What the?" He said with a frown on his face. Pushing himself up onto his feet, Naruto looked around, wondering where he was, where was he? Was this the location of his human chakra? He had no idea, but he knew that he had to be careful around this place. There has to be some kind of test here… at least, he believed there was.

"You've arrived at last." Said a soft and soothing voice. Naruto blinked in confusion, he didn't think that he would find someone that seemed so… un-Kurama like for his human chakra. Turning around, Naruto found himself face to face with a woman. She had long black hair and soft brown eyes. She just smiled as she looked at Naruto. He noticed that he was only a few inches taller than her that was something though then again he was taller than the average human man.

Taking another glace at the woman, he saw that she was pale, maybe paler than a normal human. Though, she didn't seem sickly in the least but healthy and strong. The woman wore a simple white robe, nothing seemed out of the ordinary for her choice of attire though then again what was he to expect from his own chakra… realm? That the word he was looking for? He had no idea, but there was something about her that seemed to click in his mind. He had no idea, but, he felt like he had met her before.

Suddenly, an image appeared in Naruto's mind, it was quick but it felt like something had stabbed him in his mind, and his heart. The vision had overtaken the woman, in her place was a woman in a simple yellow and brown kimono, her hair was crimson much like Kurama's and had soft, loving brown eyes. Yet, as quickly as it had appeared, it faded, causing Naruto to let out a hiss of pain. Why did he see that? Who was that woman? Why did he feel like he's met her somewhere before? God, this was all confusing,

"Are you alright young one?" asked the woman, causing Naruto to groan and blink up at her. What was she talking about? Why did she call him 'young one'? There is no way that she was older than him, after all if she was a spirit of his chakra, then she had to be the same age as him… right?

"I'm fine, who are you?" asked Naruto as he straightened himself up once more, facing the woman straight on as he wondered. His confusion had him puzzled but his curiosity also had him wondering. Looking around, the young man wondered why they were in a field of sunflowers. Was there some kind of significants to all of this or was it something more?

The woman just smiled happily, her smile was bright and radiant much like the sunflowers that surrounded the two of them. All he could think about was any man would be lucky to have her as their wife if she were real. Though, for him he had someone else he wanted as his wife… but knew that it couldn't be.

"My name, is Sachi. I am the spirit of your human chakra." She said with a bright smile once more on her face. So, she is the spirit of his human chakra, but what would he have to do to be able to use it? After all, with Kurama, he had to fight the demon in order to use it because the demon man thought he'd use his power to harm people. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as he went into deep thought. It had him curious as to what the man would have to do. Yet, even though he was thinking, Sachi just stood there, allowing him to think everything through. "I know this must be overwhelming you Naruto, but you have to believe me, I do not wish to hurt you. I don't harm demons unless they give me a reason to."

Blinking, the young man looked up at the woman in shock. Did she somehow read his mind, or was she able to see what he was thinking because of the whole 'spirit of his chakra' thing that she had going on for her. Sachi giggled a little as she gently cupped her cheek with her hand as she said "Naruto, relax. I only wish to speak with you. I want to talk, nothing more. After this, you'll be able to use your human chakra at long last.

Looking around, he was about to ask where they would even go to talk since he had a feeling it would last a while… until, he felt Sachi gently hold his shoulder and waved her free hand and some of the sunflowers disappeared so they could sit down. Okay, he had to admit that was pretty neat. Walking over to the clear area, the fox demon sat down as he waited for the brown eyed woman to sit down.

"Now… answer me this. Why do you refuse to use your demon chakra?" Asked Sachi with a soft and gentle smile on her face. Honestly, the young demon was rather shocked that she would know about that. Yet, he felt like he wanted to tell her what he could. There was so much that he wanted to say but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to do so… at least, not right away. Taking another look around, the young man wondered how he should start. How he should tell her his tale yet, before he could say anything, the young woman spoke before he could. "Is it because you are afraid of hurting humans?" She asked.

"Yes… I hurt people before and I don't want to hurt anyone else again. I think I could have killed them because I lost control over myself. People… are afraid of me." He whispered the last part, feeling like he was about to cry at the thought of it. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to do so. It just felt wrong for him to cry now, not in front of someone he didn't know. Even if she was a part of his chakra.

"That is why you attacked them. Because you are afraid… afraid, and scared of who you are." Sachi said with a soft smile on her face. Turning to look up at her, only to turn away Naruto didn't think he could face anyone. Okay, it is true. He is afraid, afraid of hurting people but honestly there was more to it than that.

"I don't like the idea of being a demon, in a village of humans. People fear me, think that I'll go out in the night to kill them or take their children." Lifting his clawed hand, Naruto whispered "I don't think I could be accepted, so I changed my appearance to hide myself, to be more like a human just so I could fit in." Sighing softly, the young man looked up at the sky as he whispered "Yet, no matter what I do, people hate me, fear me and want to avoid me as much as possible."

Soon, soft giggling was heard next to him, causing Naruto to turn and stare at her. He wanted to ask her what was so funny, at least, until she beat him to the punch once more. "You remind me of someone I knew long ago." Huh? What did she mean by that? Wasn't she born from within his chakra or… was she a spirit that just seemed to fuse with his chakra as he was born?

Sachi looked over at Naruto with a soft and loving smile on her face. "Long ago, I knew a man that was powerful. He had so much power that he could easily destroy the village I lived near… Yet, he never wished to hurt anyone. In fact, he only wanted to protect the villagers." Sachi said, a dreamy smile on her face as she let out a soft content sigh. Who was this man? And, why did she act like she was love sick in the first place? It seemed the more she spoke, the less he knew.

Letting out a content sigh once more, Sachi went on with her tale. "I found him in the forest. He was wounded, and looked as if he was close to death. I had two choices, let him die where he was, and alone… or, I bring him to my home, and save him." Looking off to the side, lost in her memory as she paused in her tale. Did this man mean that much to her or was it just a story that she wanted to speak? After all, there was no way of knowing for sure that this woman was ever really alive in the first place. He waited for her go on with her tale.

"I brought him to my home just outside of the village. Everyone thought I was crazy, because he was a demon." Naruto did a double take at that. She saved a demon? Willingly? But, why? People, humans, hate demons. Yet, she saved him… wait, was she the woman that saved that demon and married one? Why would she be here?

"What ever happened to him and you?" he asked with a frown on his face.

"Over the course of our time together, we talked. Spent time together, just being together I guess." Sachi giggled a little, her face tinted pink in a blush as she spoke of the demon. "He was different compared to men who would ask for my hand… While those men just came up to me, and asked me… not bothering to get to know me… the demon wanted to know me. Wanted to know who I was, what I liked and hated. We learned so much about the other." Naruto just stared in awe at her. A demon did all of that for her?

"Wait, why didn't his wounds heal quickly? Normally after wounds are treated for a demon they heal within days." Naruto asked with a frown.

Sachi frowned as she lowered her gaze. "His wounds were caused by sacred weapons. So, only a being who learned and harness such power could treat it." Sachi turned to stare at Naruto for a moment before giving a faint smile. "Even though for the first few months, he couldn't really move well, but he was able to get out of bed here and there as time went on. He grew stronger." A sad smile graced her lips as she closed her eyes. "Honestly, I thought once he had healed, he would leave, and leave me with a broken heart."

"What made you think that?" asked Naruto.

"Because, no demon ever stayed with a human. No matter if they were friends or not, they always leave… but, he was different." Sachi smiled as she looked up at the sky, a soft and gentle smile was growing on her face as the frown faded. As if it was never there in the first place. "After he healed, he asked me… for my hand in marriage."

"What?!" Naruto said with shock. Sure, he heard this from Kurama, but he had been so vague about the whole thing. This woman though, was giving him a bit more information. Though the only thing that she isn't saying is who her husband was. There had to be some kind of clue as to who it was that would tell him who this demon was. Maybe get some information to find this village and even the demon village that the demon was from. Maybe find his roots… maybe anyway. Though he couldn't be sure if that would be possible at this point.

Giggling against her hand, Sachi said "Yes, I was rather surprised. He wanted to marry me. I had been so surprised that I didn't think that I could speak. Yet, I said yes and we spent many happy years together. Had a wonderful life and had a child together." Looking at Naruto, her gaze softened and seemed to glaze over in her memories. Why did she look at him like that? There was something that she wasn't telling him but for now he wouldn't bug her about it. "He stayed by my side, helping me gather supplies for either our home, or to help the villagers. That was his duty the whole time we were together until my death. I made him promise me one thing."

"What was that?" he asked with a frown.

"I made him promise me, that when my life came to an end… he was to keep living. Not for me, but for our child. That was the only thing I wanted from him and nothing more. The time I had with him were the best times I've had in my life and I would treasure them forever." Smiling gently, she sighed softly as she looked back to Naruto. A cheerful smile on her face. "After I passed, I turned myself into chakra so I could help people, I wanted to help people through their lives in their chakra networks until I did what I wanted to do again."

"What was that?"

"To see my husband again. I don't know whatever happened to him, but I hope that I can see him once more before I can pass on into the spirit world with him, and we can spend eternity with each other." She giggled a little more before leaning back to gaze up at the sky.

"What does this have to do about my chakra though?" asked Naruto.

"He tried to be something he's not. He's not a human, but a demon. You can't change who you are, but you can make the best of things. That is the point of the story Naruto." She asked with a smile on her face. Before he could even say anything though, he found everything around him fading. He was being forced to wake up!

"Wait!"

"You'll learn the answer someday Naruto, then you will be what you are meant to be." She said, her voice slowly fading before he found himself awake once more.

Looking around, the young man found himself back at the field with Jiraiya staring at him. The older man just smiled as he said "I can feel your human chakra. I believe we are ready. Let us return to the palace." Naruto gave a small smile before pushing himself up onto his feet. Though, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that there was something wrong…

* * *

 **hey everyone, if you've read the other updated stories I've done, then you know that I haven't been in a writing mood lately until I had something to help me with my anxiety which, prevented me from writing. I wanted to write but lacked a real desire to do so. Anyway, I'm on some meds to help e control it when I'm working (main source lol ) and I feel a lot better. Though, I should warn you that there may not be an update next week. My older brother's are coming down for a week, I haven't seen one of them in ten years, and the other in almost twenty. See, they moved REALLY far away because my oldest brother is in the Navy so he can't leave much. But yeah, they're coming down, but... we're gonna see our father because from what my mom and step dad told me from when they saw him in court (long story on that one) he looked in really bad shape. It was as if he's gone from 64 to 102 from my step dad's point of view. So, gonna see what happens, just pray I keep my sanity.**


	19. The Scroll At Last

Naruto couldn't believe that he had managed to awaken both his demonic, and human chakra. Yet, he wasn't able to sense his demonic chakra. It was as if it had been locked away. Frowning a little, the young man looked around as he traveled back with Jiraiya. It didn't feel like he had been there for very long though, then again he had spent most of the time in some kind of trance. For all he knew, he could have been like that for days.

He couldn't help but wonder, what would happen once they made it back to the palace? Would everything still be okay, or would the final battle have started?

Rubbing his face, the young man wondered why he felt like there was something wrong. There had been this nagging suspicion feeling in his stomach. It was telling him that something was wrong. That there was something bad going to happen, and soon. "You alright Naruto?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto quickly turned to stare at the master before looking away. "I dunno, I sense something bad happening. Or, at least something that is about to happen." Shaking his head, the young man just didn't think that he could think of the reason for it. There was no way that Obito could have attacked the palace did it? Opening his mouth to voice his opinion, there was a gentle breeze that blew past him. The scent that carried with it, almost made his blood go cold.

The scent of blood stained the air. Not just any blood, but the blood of the five, or at least, four out of the five. "The others!" Shouted Naruto before running back toward the palace. He didn't care if he used his demonic strength, his speed, at the moment he didn't give a damn! The only thing that mattered to him, was to get to the others and make sure that they are okay. Sure, don't get him wrong, he was worried about the others, but Hinata, was the one that he was most concerned about.

Jumping over bushes, the young man made his way toward the stairs. God, he hated these stairs, but damn it he had to make sure that he could get up there in time! Narrowing his blue eyes, that had turned crimson with black pupils for a split second, he raced up the stairs and started to make his way to the palace. "Everyone!" shouted Naruto, hoping, praying with everything in his body that everyone was okay.

He didn't know how long he ran, or how far but he knew that he had to be careful in case the villain was still around.

Once he made his way to the top, Naruto couldn't help but stare in shock. Breathing deeply, the young man had his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. God, all of this stress wasn't good for him. Hell, it may cause him to shift if this kept up. Looking up, he couldn't believe what he saw. There, laying on the ground was Shino, TenTen, Lee, and Temari. Though, Hinata was standing by them, trying to tend to their injuries. It seemed that they were merely knocked out. As for Hinata, it looked like she had a few bruises here and there. Breathing deeply, he rushed over to everyone and stared at them for a moment. "What happened?"

"It was Obito, we went to stop him, or at least to hold him off for a bit. He is still on his way here. I don't know what to do, the others haven't regained consciousness yet." Hinata said with fear and concern rising in her voice. It seemed that this really started to scare her, but he knew of at least one thing that he could do for them. Breathing deeply, he knew that Sachi's chakra may be able to help. After all, she had mentioned that she could help people so… why not this? Reaching out, he gently laid a hand on Lee's arm, hoping that maybe he could start out with the less injured.

Closing his eyes, Naruto hoped and prayed that he would be able to do this, that he could do something to help anyone. Breathing deeply, he could feel his chakra flow through his hand and into Lee's body. Though, he couldn't feel anything other than that. Frowning a little to himself, the young man could feel something there, and he was pulling it out. He felt someone's thoughts brush through his chakra causing him to shudder a little. _"Who are you?"_ thought the voice, making Naruto think it was Lee.

Breathing deeply, Naruto opened his eyes as he saw Lee looking back up at him. Though his eyes were glazed over from sleep. Had he just brought out his… consciousness? Shaking his head, Naruto went to work on the others but someone held him back. Turning around, he saw Jiraiya looking down at him. Shaking his head as he said "You're human chakra isn't strong enough to bring everyone out. You were lucky enough to have even brought one of them out."

Looking over at the older man, he saw Jiraiya holding his hands together as a chakra circle formed around him., tendrils of chakra formed and started to make their way to the others. Not only waking them up, but healing them. Even Lee was getting himself healed. How much power did this man have? Pushing himself back up on shaky legs, Naruto took a deep breath as he asked "What is going to happen now?"

"He's on his way, we need the scroll." Naruto nodded his head before following everyone into the palace. He hoped that they would be able to get the scroll, though he wondered, if this would be enough to give him the power to stop Obito before it was too late. Looking toward the stairs, he hoped that his father was okay, the man isn't allowed to die, not unless it was of old age.

"Obito was behind this, it is time to get the scroll." Jiraiya said, causing Naruto to look up in shock. It was time to get to the scroll? Oh god, he would be able to learn the secrets of the scroll at long last!

Taking a look around at everyone, he saw that they were just as nervous as he was. Or, were they a bit excited to finally see that the scroll being opened at long last. Turning back to the palace, or more so the temple where the scroll was kept. Naruto wondered, what there was to do in order to obtain the scroll, though he hoped that he wouldn't be too late to learn the secrets of the scroll before Obito arrived.

Breathing deeply, the young man asked "Do you think that… I'm ready?" He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Would he even be ready for this? Was he even ready for this? Dear lord, he didn't think that he was ready since he had only just completed his training! There was no way that he-

"No, I don't think you're ready but we have no choice." Calmly answered Jiraiya.

He wasn't ready- wait? What? "If you don't think I'm ready, then why bother!?" shouted Naruto. He sounded a little pissed, feeling like even with all that training, no one believed that he was ready. Breathing deeply, Naruto felt like his eyes flashed crimson for a brief moment before reverting. Again, he couldn't hear Kurama's voice at all. It was as if he had been locked away from him… at least for now. Or maybe he was sleeping. Wait, does chakra even need a reason to sleep? God this was all confusing.

"Because you still depend on your demonic-half. You have to focus on your human chakra, and only your human chakra." Jiraiya calmly said before running a hand through his thick bangs. "Sadly though, we don't have much time. We can't do anything more, we are out of time." Naruto sighed softly, feeling that he knew that this was to be done. "Let's go everyone." Said the old master before everyone started to walk toward the palace.

As they made their way to the palace, the young man couldn't help but stare at the others. They all looked nervous, besides the slight bruising on their skin, even with their bodies being healed of most of their injuries, they still had trouble with the bruising. Yet, their expressions, were a little grim. "So, what do I have to do then?" asked Naruto, hoping to get their minds off of the 'Obito' problem. At least, for the time being.

"Legend says that there is a secret mechanism that only the chosen warrior is to unlock. Though, other people who were thought to be the legendary warrior had tried, they could never open it. This, will be the true test to show that you are the chosen warrior." Hm, so that was why they have never found the chosen warrior before. It was rather odd, but it did make sense. That way only the true legendry warrior could open the scroll case.

Looking around, the young man noticed that they had managed to walk inside the palace, or at the least, the inner shrine that held the statue. It wasn't grand or anything like that, yet at the back of the temple, was a statue. The statue was huge, maybe a few inches taller than Naruto himself. It had nine swirling tails behind it, the ends of the tails curled almost making someone think that they're blowing in the wind. Behind the statue, from what Naruto could make out were dancing flames. The flames surrounded the fox, yet didn't seem as if it was intending to harm the fox. More like, it was working with the fox if that made any kind of sense.

"This, is the statue that the great sage of old, had created when he had a vision of the Legendary Warrior. He foresaw that only one would be the chosen warrior, and that only he, or she would be able to unlock the statue to obtain the scroll." Jiraiya explained, confusing Naruto all the more. How could the sage see something like that? Not to mention, this far ahead into the future for that matter? Had he seen some kind of events that would happen to cause all of this to happen?

Gulping a little, the young man walked over to the statue and took a good long hard look at it. He felt like the statue was staring at him, measuring him up. It seemed as if it was trying to test him, testing him of being worthy of the scroll. Gulping once again, Naruto took a deep breath hoping to calm down his nerves. God, how did he get himself into this mess in the first place? It almost seemed forever ago now that he had been fighting one of the masters, and thus getting himself chosen when he was thrown into the palace.

Taking another look at the statue, he noticed nine holes in the wall, all where the tails curled up at the end. Blinking his blue eyes in confusion, he walked over to the statue to get a better look, wanting to be sure if he was right or not. The statue was a fox, he was a fox demon who, happened to have a tiny bit of human blood or so. There were nine holes in the walls from what he could gather, yet, looking into the hole he saw that there was some kind of… gear or something in the back?

Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Could it be…?" He whispered, not sure if anyone else had heard him. Closing his eyes, he knew that he couldn't access his demonic chakra, but maybe he could still access his demonic form. It didn't require chakra to change, but it does take a lot of focus and self of will to change back. At least, that was how he always understood it.

Opening his eyes, he allowed his nine tails to appear, all of them swishing back and forth before he made all of his tails go into the holes that resided in the wall. It almost seemed like he knew what he had to do. As if this was something that he was meant to do all this time. That, this was a fate that he was meant to do even before he was even born. Growling to himself, he forced all of his strength into his tails and forced the tails of the statue to turn with the strength of his own tails. Everyone gasped out in shock, causing him to lose his focus for a brief moment.

Going back to his task, Naruto could feel something through his tails. He could feel some kind of odd clicking through the holes, feeling as the click had vibrated through his tails for the briefest of moments. Soon, a loud _click_ was heard, causing him to stare in shock. There, laying on the floor was the scroll… He, he did it…

"He did it…" Whispered Jiraiya in shock.

Naruto retracted his tails as he just stared at the scroll in shock. How was it that he could have done that in the first place? Shaking his head, the tails disappeared before he made his way to the scroll. He couldn't help but stare at it in shock and confusion, as if just picking it up would burn his hand. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the parchment, or rather the container that resided within it. Turning to the others, he saw that they were staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Something wrong?" he asked in confusion.

"It's just that, no one had ever been able to open that in hundreds of years." Whispered TenTen in shock and awe. It just seemed as if the very thought that he, a demon, had been able to unlock the secret to opening the statue.

"Um… okay… now what?" asked Naruto with a tilt of his head.

"Just opened the canister and read it. Once you do, you will know the secret of the universe and have amazing power." Answered Hinata with a smile.

Turning to the container… no, to the canister, he twisted the top and removed it before pulling out the scroll. He was nervous, thinking that he was not worthy of reading such a thing. Yet, he knew that for the sake of the world, for the sake of his home and everyone in it, that he was the only one that could do this. Or else the whole world would be destroyed. Taking a deep breath, the young man pulled the scroll apart, slowly anyway. He wondered if the scroll would break or turn to dust thinking that he would break it with how old the scroll is.

Gulping, he fully unrolled the scroll and stared in shock. Letting out a yelp out of drama. Causing everyone to scream or back away in shock and fear. Fear that something was happening to Naruto only to calm down when he said the next words… or, maybe 'calm down' was the wrong choice of words. More like, they started to panic all the more when Naruto had said the next few words.

"The scroll is blank."

"What?!" shouted Jiraiya before grabbing the scroll and started to look. Unrolling the scroll some more hoping to find some kind of answer. Yet, nothing came in view. Frowning a little, he whispered "It is blank… there is no way that this should be possible." Shaking his head, the young man couldn't help but think that maybe, this had been nothing but a huge joke. The sage, only making the legend so he could cause some kind of travesty or some sort. This… this was a living nightmare that no one could help anyone to wake up from.

Jiraiya dropped the scroll, it rolled over to Naruto's feet causing the young demon to pick it up and stared at the paper. He couldn't understand, he knew that there was more to this scroll than meets the eye but he couldn't help but wonder what it was that the scroll was supposed to tell him. Some kind of hidden meaning, though no matter what he just couldn't think of what the thing was!

He just couldn't help but stare at the scroll, it had a reflective surface. The only thing that he could stare at was his reflection but, he just couldn't think as to what it was that happened. "Obito is on his way, the village will be destroyed…" Jiraiya whispered softly causing everyone to look at the old man in shock. They knew that he was right, the Uchiha was on his way, and he was going to kill everyone that got in his way. "You will all get the villagers out of here. I will stay back to give you all time to get them out of here." Whispered the old master.

"But…" Naruto whispered, staring at the old master with wide eyes. There was no way that Jiraiya was willing to do this. There had to be a reason for this, but… no matter what he just couldn't think about what it could be! "He'll kill you though Jiraiya!" shouted Naruto, his body shaking at the thought of losing someone because he couldn't lose someone. There was no way that he could allow this to happen to anyone, no matter how horrible they started out to be!

"Then I will have learned and pay for my mistakes." Jiraiya said with a small smile on his face. Naruto just stared in shock. As did everyone else, for they were not just going to have to leave their home, but they were going to have to leave their master behind. It was going to be a lot harder for them, and heavier on their hearts.


	20. Be Yourself

Naruto slowly made his way down to the village. He knew that it would be impossible for him to save the village. He didn't even know what it was that he was missing. Sure, he was able to get the scroll, but there was something more to it than he believed. Why wasn't there anything on the scroll? Why was it a reflective surface? Letting out a soft sigh, he saw the others walking with him, all of them had a sadness not in just their expression, but in their aura.

None of them had wanted to leave Jiraiya behind, yet what more could they do? Obito was coming, he was going to attack the village and kill everyone unless they escorted everyone out of here. Clenching his left hand into a tight fist, he didn't think it would end up like this. Letting out a soft growl, gaining everyone's attention. Staring at them, he saw the concern on their faces, mostly Hinata. Giving them a sad smile, he said "I'm fine." Okay, he lied, he wasn't fine. He was upset and angry with himself but he wasn't going to tell them that.

Turning away, he started to walk on ahead. Everyone else was going to escort the villagers out while Naruto, knew that he had to focus on his father. "I hope you're okay dad." Naruto whispered to himself as he started to make a break for it to the shop. His body changing back into a human as he got further and further into the village. As he ran to his father's shop, the young man could faintly hear people mocking him. Saying 'Look at the Great Furious Fox, guess he couldn't do it after all.' Oh god how he wished that he could kick their ass, but he had some restraint.

Turning to them for a brief moment, Naruto's eyes were sad and filled with guilt. He felt like he had also failed them, even if their words were meant to hurt him. Taking a deep breath, he calmly said "At least know that I tried to protect this village." Not bothering to see their expressions, the young man ran off as fast as he could. He had to get to his father and quickly, he knew that the others could handle getting everyone out of the village before Obito arrived. He just had to check on his father… he just had to.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto narrowed his eyes. There was just so many people walking through the village. He would have to think of a way to get by without running into anyone. Though, that may be harder than it should be. Looking up at the buildings, he thought that he could just use those like he used to when he was trying to get away from people.

Running over to the building, Naruto jumped up onto the roof as he started to leap from building to building… or, at least he had attempted. Before he could even make it to the next roof, he fell to the ground and let out a scream. "The hell!?" Though, thankfully, he had landed on some bags of trash. Groaning, he rubbed his head as he wondered what had happened. He normally had no problem unless… Turning to the bracer on his arm, he sighed as he remembered… "Right, I can't use demon abilities. Transformation is one thing but abilities… no."

Pushing himself up onto his feet, rubbing his back as he let out a soft groan. Welp, looks like he's gonna have to walk until his healing kicks in. Checking his pockets, he picked up the scroll before he started to make his way toward the shop. What else could go wrong for him? He stopped for a moment, picturing what would happen if he hadn't gotten anyone out of here on time. If he couldn't get his father out of the village. The mental image of Obito coming, killing everyone just to get to him, to the scroll. He caused a growl to rumble out of his chest making those around him run away in fear.

That, had caused Naruto to calm down. No, he couldn't allow his anger to get the best of him. He wasn't going to be a monster, not like Obito. Obito wanted power, Naruto himself, just wanted to protect the people around him. Even if they saw him as a monster, there was no way that he would allow himself to be consumed by the darkness. He just had to think about those who made him happy.

Smiling gently, he thought of his father Iruka, and the woman he loved… Hinata. Letting out a soft sigh of content, the young man went back on his trek home. He just hoped and prayed that his father was still there. Though, so far he didn't smell any signs of his father leaving the village yet, so that had to be a good sign at the very least. Making a sharp turn at the corner, the young man saw the shop in his sights. It looked like it was closed, or at the very least that it hadn't even been opened today at all.

Or maybe he had a lot more time to close up today than usual.

Shrugging to himself, the young man rushed to the shop, ignoring his own pain in the process. "Dad! You there?!" Shouted the blonde and crimson haired man. Hoping, and praying that he hadn't been too late to it.

His heart lifted when he heard a familiar voice reaching his ears.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" came Iruka's voice as he walked out of the shop and stared at his son. Naruto was breathing heavily as he stared at his father. He was happy to see that his father was still here yet, a part of him felt like he had disappointed him in some way. Looking away, Naruto let out a soft sigh as he was about to answer him until he felt Iruka hugging him. "What happened son?"

Eyes widening, Naruto held onto his father as he said "I failed everyone dad. I couldn't finish my training. I couldn't do it! I just couldn't master what Jiraiya wanted me to do! I couldn't master the Rasengan! I couldn't focus on only using my human chakra! _I'm a failure!"_

Iruka rubbed his son's back, Naruto not even caring that it seemed childish for a grown man to be crying in his father's arms. AT the moment, he didn't give a shit, he just felt like he had failed so many people that he had wanted to protect. "Naruto, what makes you think that you failed everyone?" Asked Iruka. Causing Naruto to pull back, only for his father to hold up his hand. "First off, let's start walking okay? It's best that we walk and talk so we can leave the village."

Even though hearing some of those words only made him feel worse, Naruto knew that his father was right. Looking over, he saw a traveling cart that, no doubt had all of their things. Walking over to it, Naruto set the scroll in a compartment before he started to pull it along as he and his father traveled away from their home. He wasn't even sure if they were gonna talk now, not with so many people around them to hear their conversation. Yet, he was wrong when his father started to speak.

"So, what makes you believe that you are a failure?" asked Iruka.

Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto tried to collect his thoughts. Tried to think on how he could say this to his father yet, he still wasn't a hundred percent sure as to how he could say this in the first place. He frowned a little as he started to speak. "I couldn't finish the training. I was being trained to only depend on my human chakra, I have unlocked it yes, but… I keep depending on my demonic abilities and I can't use it with this bracer on my arm." Running a hand down and over his face, the young man tried to think on how he could keep going with this. All of this was a bit over whelming for him, no doubt about that but he knew that he had so much going on in his mind and his heart. "Because of me, everyone has to leave their home, and Jiraiya is going to lose his life."

Iruka sighed softly as he said "Naruto, it isn't your fault. How were we to know that you were to be chosen as a warrior when, you have never been taught how to fight in the first place?" Okay, his father has a point there, yet he knew that there was still no excuse for the fact that he couldn't finish his training and couldn't stop depending on his power no matter how hard he tried.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man turned to his father as he said "Dad, do you ever feel like no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't change anything?" He frowned a little before looking away and looked up at the sky as he was in deep thought. "Sometimes I wonder if there is something that is hidden from me, wondering who my mother was, what happened to her… why you never talk about her."

Iruka stopped in his tracks for a moment. Causing Naruto to stop as well, there was something that had been bugging him for years, as he had gotten older, he couldn't help but wonder if he was even Iruka's son in the first place since, he noticed that they looked nothing alike. Though he just hoped to never speak off that, not wanting to hurt his father regardless.

"Naruto, let me tell you a story from my youth. This was before you came into my life." Naruto turned to his father with a frown on his face. "Before I started my shop, I had tried following recipes for noodles, hoping to make a living on my own though, no matter what I did the taste wasn't special." He chuckled a little, causing Naruto to frown a little more as he wondered what this story had to do with anything. "After so many tries, I gave up following what I was to do, and instead tried my own recipe. After trial and error, I was able to focus on what was needed, instead of what was wanted."

Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Naruto tried to think on what more there was to the story. "People enjoy the soup now, because they know it is an original, and I make it special for everyone. I didn't change what was expected of me, but was just being myself and used my own creativity to create what we have today." Then, his eyes glazed over in his memory as he added "In fact, that was how I first met your mother." Ears perking at that, Naruto stared at him in shock at the first mention of his mother. "She followed the scent from the soup and came here, I was hesitant at first because she was a demon, but… her face…"

Iruka frowned a little as he thought about her. Why didn't he sense love from his father? Was there something more to this? "She was desperate, and even though I, myself was raised to hate demons, the look on her face. So alone, scared and frightened, I did what I could, and did what I knew was right and helped her."

"Dad, what happened after that? And, what is the point of this story?" asked Naruto with a frown on his face.

Chuckling, Iruka turned to stare at his son as he answered his son. "The moral of the story Naruto, is to be yourself. I didn't change who I was, I was raised to hate demons yes, but my heart couldn't turn her away. If I did, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. It was the soup that I created myself, that had made me realise to be my own person and take on so many responsibilities instead of being someone I wasn't. A heartless man."

Naruto frowned a little at those words.

Hearing his father's story… it made Naruto think about everything that had been going on. If the moral of the story was to be himself, then what was it? Frowning a little, he thought back to his entire life. To his childhood, hoping and praying on what he could or should do at this point. As a child, he was hated because he was a demon, and that was all that he thought he was. Yet, he knew that there was something missing for that to have happened in the first place.

After that, he tried to be as human as he could, trying to live a life of a human and avoid hurting people. That was something that had always scared him, scared him to the point where he had been afraid of himself. Closing his eyes, he knew that he had been lying to himself yet, he didn't care at the time. All he wanted was to be accepted by others so if it meant being a human then so be it.

Yet, even that didn't work.

Opening his eyes a crack, he looked down at his hands and stared at his human looking hands. Was he really meant to be a human? A demon? What was he to be? Soon, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing the younger man to stare at his father in confusion. Iruka's face was nothing but a big smile as he said "Do you know what I am talking about son?"

To be honest, he didn't think he did. He himself, had tried to be human, yet when the others see him, they saw nothing but a demon. Jiraiya tried to get him to focus on only his human chakra so he wouldn't depend on his demonic chakra and lose himself. Wait… losing himself… was that because, even his own mind was trying to tell him something? Sure, he knew that he kept losing himself because of people's hatred to him, but was there so much more to it than that? Maybe a part of him, trying to tell him something important? He had no idea, but he knew that he had to think of everything clearly.

Kurama, he was his demonic chakra, a part of him without a doubt but, a stronger part of himself that he never thought he would need in the first place. Yet, he knew that there was more to the man than just being a powerful demon that had once lived and was trying to keep a promise to his wife all those years ago…

Sachi, she was his human chakra. If he did have a bit of human blood, even if it was limited, than how powerful was she in the first place and how useful was she? Don't get him wrong, she was really nice and had been in love with a powerful demon.

Yet, both of them had tried to tell him something, but wanted him to figure it out on his own. Knowing that if they told him, that it could only harm him or worse, cause him a terrible pain in his heart if it was something that he hadn't heard himself. Taking a deep breath, Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to think on what they had been trying to tell him. Human, demon, both so different yet at the same time they weren't. There had been good demons, just like there are good people. Then, his father was telling him a story about being himself, so if Naruto placed himself in his father's position… that would mean-

Eyes snapping open that was when it finally clicked into his head. "I… have to be myself…" Naruto whispered, only to stare at his father who was only grinning at his son. Iruka just chuckled a little as he stared at his son with soft eyes, hoping that he had gotten what it was that the older man had been trying to tell his son this whole time.

Patting his son on the back, Iruka asked "Did you get what I meant Naruto? What do you mean, 'to be myself'?"

All the blonde and crimson haired man did was stare at his father in shock and confusion for a moment before moving away from the cart. Picking up the scroll from the compartment and looked at the reflective surface once more. He just stared at it, stared at the reflection that the scroll created from its surface. Turning to his bracer, he knew that he didn't need it, this was something that was preventing what he had to do. Acting quickly, Naruto removed the bracer and growled a little before tossing it aside like trash.

"I know the answer… The scroll did have a secret, it had a secret to protect this village, to have an ultimate power for it and… and I finally understand what it is dad." Naruto said with a grin on his face, he couldn't help but stare at his father with a smile, it felt like a great weight had been taken off of his shoulders at long last, after years and years of torment having been removed, he knew that he had done what he should have done in the first place.

"What is the answer Naruto?" asked Iruka, a calm look was on his face as he stared at his son. Hoping that Naruto indeed, got the answer that he had tried to give to his son without just blurting it out.

"I am a demon and a human hybrid. I have the blood and powers of a demon, but with a heart of a human. I won't keep lying to myself anymore. I am Naruto, and I am a Nine Tailed Fox Demon, and I am the Furious Fox, warrior chosen by the great sage that is to protect this village from any and all harm." Naruto had a grin on his face as he looked up at the path that would take him to the palace. He had a destiny to fulfill at long last.


	21. Obito

Jiraiya had lived with a lot of things in his life. The loss of family, the loss of friends, the loss of his student and then his master. Now though? He may end up losing his life, just to let everyone get a head start to their safety. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he couldn't help but wonder, reflect if you will, on his life. Making him wonder, what would happen if he had taken a different path with helping Obito deal with the loss of Rin. Would this path still have been chosen for the young Uchiha? Or, would he have taken a different path?

It was hard to say in all honesty.

Maybe even Kakashi could have helped his friend. His brother so to speak. Yet, now he couldn't really say that he had done a lot of great things in his life. Still, things that he had regretted in life and this sadly, was one of them.

Taking a deep breath, the older man opened his eyes and standing before him, was his old student. Obito hadn't changed much over the years. He had gotten older, though his hair was short, still its raven black colour much like all Uchiha members. Hair styled in spikes much like Naruto's was. His skin was pale, though most likely from being in solitary confinement for all these years. Yet, he failed to lose any of the muscle that he had gained from years of training before his confinement.

Yet, instead of the once warm and kind black eyes that once stared at him as a child… were the cold and murderous eyes of a man that wanted nothing more than death and power. Obito was wearing nothing but a pair of black pants, no shoes. It seemed that he couldn't bother to grab something else since he did, most likely run through some of the snowier plains just to make it here.

"Obito…" Jiraiya calmly said, his arms resting behind his back. It would have been an amazing reunion, a heart retching one at that, if the situation wasn't the way it was.

"Hello Master Jiraiya," Obito said with a twisted grin on his face. Eyes flashing red, showing Jiraiya, just how he had managed to escape. "I'm home." He finished, grin still in place as he stared at his master. Jiraiya couldn't help but stare, wondering just how warped the young man's mind had become while he was locked up. How could it be, that he allowed himself to be like this all because, he couldn't become the Furious Fox no matter how hard he trained.

Jiraiya stared at his student, almost thinking that he would feel something for his old student. Yet, deep in his heart, he felt nothing. Only remorse, a feeling that he knew was created because he had failed him. "You know, that this is no longer your home. This has not been your home since you tried to destroy the village."

Obito chuckled a little, a small hint of how he felt once more surfaced. Only for it to sink once more. Taking a deep breath, the older man was about to speak, until Obito had beat him to the punch. Literally so to speak. Jiraiya let out a gasp of pain as he had felt Obito slam his open palm to Jiraiya's chest, sending him in the air and into the palace.

Jiraiya took in a gasping breath as he held his chest for a moment hoping to regain air to his lungs. Breathing deeply, the older man looked up and stared at up at his ex-student. Obito still had an insane smile on his face as he spoke. His words, the way he said it almost made him shiver. "You should have made me the Furious Fox, Master. No one deserved that title but me."

Narrowing his eyes, Jiraiya calmly said "No, it was not your destiny! That is not my fault!" Okay, he shouted it, more than saying it. Though, as soon as he said those words, it had caused something to change in Obito. His smile, while already twisted, went insane. His smile twisting into a cruel smirk, eyes widening and shining with the desire to kill and cause harm only growing. Obito lifted his leg and slammed it downward hoping to hit Jiraiya. Only for the older man to roll out of the way and jump to his feet.

Obito turned quickly and rushed at Jiraiya. Eyes ablaze with hate and rage. "Not your fault!?" he shouted, throwing punches, swinging kicks at his old master. Jiraiya did all he could to block the kits. It seemed that Obito was a lot stronger and faster than he was before he went to jail. "Who trained me?!" He shouted, Jiraiya's eyes widening as he listened to his student's rant.

"Who gave me the hope that I could be anything! Trained me until I heard my bones creak and break?!" Shouted Obito as he spun himself around and kick Jiraiya in the side of his ribs. Sending the old man into a wall and hit the floor. Rushing forward, the raven haired man shouted "Aren't you proud of me Jiraiya?! Aren't you?! Tell me how proud you are of me!"

Jiraiya groaned, trying to push himself up. God his body hurt, Obito must have put in all his power in order for him to have made sure that he could kill the older man. Jiraiya looked up and stared at his student, someone that he could have called a son at one point in his life. Yet, he didn't think it was possible anymore. All he saw, was an empty shell of who this man once was, a shell that was filled with nothing but darkness, and hate.

Obito smirked as he picked up the older man and held Jiraiya by his shirt. Jiraiya mostly dangled a bit off the ground as Obito held him. "What do you want me to say?" Jiraiya said softly. Obito just stared at him in silence. "I'm sorry that I failed you? I'm sorry, that I had turned you into this insane psycho path? How much I had failed you because I put too much faith in what your dream was only for it to fail because it was not your destiny?" Letting out a shuddering breath, the older man whispered "I… am sorry Obito."

Obito's gaze softened for a moment before narrowing once more. "I do not want you to say you are sorry to me. I just want that fucking scroll!" shouted Obito as he tossed Jiraiya aside and started to make his way over to the statue that held the scroll. Jiraiya was about to tell him that it was impossible for him to open the statue only to stare in shock…

The raven haired man had created tails out of his chakra… Nine swirling tails that looked like a fox, causing Jiraiya to stare in shock. Now, he was thankful that Naruto had the scroll, though it wasn't like the chakra could really go into the holes of the statue right? Shaking his head, Jiraiya was about to stand back up, only for Obito to slam his 'tails' into the statue's mechanism and turned them like a clocks hand hoping to get to the scroll.

"Obito, don't!" shouted Jiraiya.

"No point in stopping me! The scroll will be mine at long last!" shouted Obito with an insane laugh. As soon as the 'tails' could no longer turn the mechanism, the statue had opened its jaw, yet… nothing fell out. Obito just blinked in shock, only for that to turn into anger… then rage. Turning back to his old master, the young man marched over to the older man and picked him up by his shirt and held him inches from his face. "Where is it?!"

Jiraiya smirked a bit, only to wince from pain. "The true Furious Fox has it. He's most likely already long gone by now." Chuckling a bit, the older man just stared as he added "You… will never see that scroll. You will never see what was on that scroll and you will never find the warrior. Never… ever… never…" Obito had started to wrap his hands around the older man's wind pipe near the end, eyes burning red as he tried to end his master's life. It was easy to see just how pissed he was, though there was no way that he was going to allow it to be like this. Jiraiya though, he knew that this was going to be the end of him… though, at least he had done what he needed to do, in order to give everyone a chance to escape…

 _'Master, I'll be joining you in death soon. I'm sorry that If I failed you but, I gave the others a chance to escape.'_ thought Jiraiya as his eyes started to close.

"Let him go!"

Jiraiya and Obito turned their heads to the entrance. Naruto stood there, breathing heavily from the long trek up the stairs. His eyes narrowed into slits of anger though not the kind where he'd have to be afraid. The blonde and crimson haired man, he growled out a bit as he said "You, you let Master Jiraiya go now you… you… Psychopath!" Okay, the insult could use work but Jiraiya was more confused as to why he was here in the first place!

"Naruto… you should have run!" shouted Jiraiya when he felt Obito's grip loosen.

"Who the fuck is this?" asked Obito with a glare.

Naruto growled as he got into a fighting stance, his arms held up as a way of shielding his face while still ready to attack and his feet to keep his balance. "I… am the Furious Fox." Growled Naruto.

Obito just stared. His eyes blank for a moment, void of all emotion. It was as if he was trying to process this information, it almost made the other two wonder what more he could be thinking for it shouldn't really take this long for him to think this through. Only for Obito's smile to slowly start to grow on his face. This of course had caused Naruto to frown a bit as he soon started to laugh, which grew in volume.

Naruto and Jiraiya wondered if somehow… Obito broke at this moment.

"Are you fucking serious?! This loser? He became the Furious Fox? Man, Grand Master Hiruzen must have gone senile while I was locked up!" Obito laughed out as he dropped Jiraiya and held his sides as his laughter kept on growing. Naruto had to cover his ears at how loud this man was, god his laughing hurt his ears!

Though, for the younger man, he narrowed his blue eyes as he said "How about you shut up! You were not worthy of the title. At least I didn't go killing people just because I don't get what I want!" Naruto just hoped that he wasn't going to make a fool of himself. It was a long shot at this point, though he just hoped and prayed that he would be able to handle this, that he wouldn't fail in stopping Obito, though he knew that he had to mentally prepare himself, for this was going to be a battle that decided the fate of the village. Okay, not just the village but Jiraiya as well. Turning his gaze to his master, he saw that Jiraiya looked worn out, did he even fight Obito or was he over powered?

Shaking his head, Naruto said "You and me fucker. We'll settle this like men, like warriors." Soon, Obito's laughter stopped, causing him to just stare at the younger man. What reason could he have to just stare at him like that? Was there something wrong with him at this point or was there something more now? Letting out a soft sigh, he was about to open his mouth to speak, until Obito had beat him to the punch.

"What makes you think I'd want to fight you anyway loser?" asked Obito with a smirk on his face.

Smirking himself, Naruto calmly said "You will, because I have something that you want." Obito just stared at him, confused for a moment as if he was trying to think as to what it is that Naruto would have. Honestly, Naruto didn't think that Obito would get it, though his own hearing had picked up on what Jiraiya had said to the raven haired man. Narrowing his eyes, giving a cocky smirk. Holding up a scroll, the young man said "I have the scroll you son of a bitch. You want it? You'll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers!"

Though, just as he said that Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Obito rushed at him. All Naruto could think of was _'Oh shit!'_ He went to make a quick U-turn hoping to get away, though he didn't think that Obito was as fast as he was. He felt Obito slam his palms into Naruto's back, in a way it almost made him think of how Hinata fought. Did he learn her style of fighting?

Yelping out in shock, Naruto felt himself starting to fall down the stairs, though he thrust his hand outward, using his power over wind to help stop some of his hits on the stairs. Once he was sure that he hit a landing, Naruto groaned from the slight pain only to shake himself and look up at the top of the stairs. Obito stood there, staring at him with dead eyes though, deep within the dark depths of his gaze, the young man wondered if Obito was thinking on how to kill him.

Well, if he was going to fight, he would make sure that he wouldn't go down without a fight. Sliding the scroll into the back of his pants, he hoped that he wouldn't lose it during the fight, but at the moment, he would have to make sure that he could find some kind of weakness, some kind of opening that he could do to distract the older man. God, he knew that this was going to be a difficult one, but knew that this would decide the fate of the village.

"Give me the scroll, or you forfeit your life." Obito said with a glare.

Growling, Naruto stared at him for a brief moment, only to turn his gaze down at the village. He knew that he had to be careful. He could still buy the other villagers that hadn't escaped to leave while he fought Obito. To be honest, he hadn't expected Obito to be there yet, though he hoped that his theory would be right for once. If he could somehow… Tightly shutting his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath, only to open his eyes, once blue now a deep crimson with black slit. That, had caused Obito to stare at him in shock for a moment. In fact, he looked astonished, had it surprised him that Naruto's eyes could change?

Meh, he didn't care at the moment.

"You need only one thing, and that isn't the scroll." Naruto said with a narrow of his eyes. There sure was a lot of talking, but he had no idea how long the fight would last, though he just hoped that he could at least prolong this as long as he could. Breathing deeply, he wondered if Obito would just try to steal it, though what he hadn't expect was what Obito asked.

"And, what would that be?"

Okay, he wasn't expecting that but at the moment, he didn't give a damn. "Oh, you really want to know what it is that you need?" Naruto said with a smirk on his face. Oh there was no way that he was going to pass this insult up. This had been on his mind for minutes now, but he just hoped that he wouldn't regret it later. Ah, to hell with it he wouldn't. "You can go and FUCK YOURSELF!" shouted Naruto, only to gasp out in pain as he suddenly felt the knocked the air knocked out of his lungs. He felt Obito's fist having slammed into his stomach, causing him to go flying.

Naruto had no idea that Obito was that fast, there had to be something that was doing this. Maybe he was using his chakra to do this. What could he do that would help him to beat this bastard? Maybe just using his demonic chakra? No, he had to use both. He had to use both chakras so he would be able to have at least some kind of chance to kick Obito's ass. Yet, he had no fucking clue as to how to fuse both of his chakras together!

Rolling down the stairs, Naruto felt the pain, unable to catch his breath though the pain… it was unbearable. Once he felt the ground under him, Naruto felt everything spinning, he didn't know what was up, down, left or right at this point. Blinking slowly, he looked around trying to think on what he should do, he couldn't stand. Still struggling to catch his breath but he knew that his demonic healing could only go so far. "God… I just hope that everything goes my way… with this…" Groaned Naruto, only to puke what contents he had in his stomach.

God, all of that spinning had caused far too much harm on him than he thought it would have been possible. Soon, he felt someone pick him up by his ponytail causing him to weakly stare at the once proud hero. "So, what do you gotta say now 'Furious Fox'?" asked Obito.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Though, his gaze was unfocused, unable to really tell what was in front of him at this point. Blinking slowly, Naruto whispered "You are nothing… but a fucking prick… with a complex. Nothing more and nothing less."

Obito slammed his knee into Naruto's chest, causing the young man to go flying for a moment. Damn it all, the battle hadn't even started yet and he was already getting his ass handed to him! What else could go wrong here?!

 **Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu!**


	22. Transformation

Naruto groaned a little. When he thought that he would be fighting someone like Obito, he would have laughed at first. Now, he wasn't going to allow himself to boost about his own skills, he wasn't that self-absorbed. Far from it. Yet, he didn't think that he would be getting his ass kicked like this in the first place. Taking a deep breath, the young man tried to think, tried to think on what it was that he could do to allow himself to attack. There had to be something that he would allow himself to fight back. To have some kind of self-defence.

Breathing deeply, Naruto slowly pushed himself up as he stared at the slow approaching ex-hero. Obito just stared at him, his eyes cold and empty but his smile… it was cruel and sadistic. At least, he thinks that was the right word that he would use to describe him.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen. I think Grandmaster Hiruzen made a mistake when he chose you. There is no way that you could be the warrior. How you got the scroll, I have no idea but it was a mistake." Obito said with a smirk on his face.

Naruto growled a little, again, it seemed that the sound of his growl had caused a slight sight of confusion to appear on his face. Why that was, Naruto had no idea. Unless, Obito doesn't know that he's a demon. Oh right, Obito was locked up before Naruto was born. At least, he was pretty sure of it. Groaning, Naruto pushed himself up, slowly making his way to stand back up onto his feet as he glared at the raven haired man. "I won't allow you to do as you please." Naruto growled out, for a brief moment his eyes flashed crimson before reverting back to their ocean blue colour.

Taking a deep breath, the young man got into a fighting position, his demonic healing kicking in as he felt himself starting to recover. If this was going to be a long battle, he'd have to make sure that he kept his demonic chakra open for him to use. There was no way that he could risk allowing himself to get his but handed to him already.

Or at least, not again.

Obito just stared at Naruto, his eyes changing to red with three tomoes within the depths. Naruto had no idea what the hell that is, but before he could figure it out, it disappeared. It seemed that Obito seemed confused about something, but made no remark on it. At least, for now he didn't. "What are you boy?" asked Obito. Okay so he was going to question it. Narrowing his eyes, he said "There is no way that you should have been able to recover so quickly."

Naruto just growled at him, there was no way that he would give him that honor of knowing what he was. No, right now wasn't a time for 'reveals' so to speak, but a time of action! "Let's just say… I'm a special case." He said with a smirk before rushing forward. Using his own chakra hoping to increase his speed enough to give him some kind of upper hand when fighting Obito. While the raven haired was powerful, he was still only a human. Acting quickly, he slammed his fist into Obito's stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Obito howled from the pain before he could react with his own attack, Naruto spun around and kicked the ex-hero in the ribs, sending him flying into a tree.

 _'I can't believe that I hit him!'_ thought Naruto with shock and awe. Only to shake his head before he saw Obito rushing at him with a scream. Acting quickly, Naruto quickly dodged and slammed his foot into the older man's back, hoping to know him over or down. Whichever works for him to be honest.

Yet Obito seemed to have had other plans.

Acting quickly, he twisted his body around, grabbing a hold of Naruto's ponytail, the only part of him that the older man could grab. Naruto yelped from shock and fell to the ground with the older man. He was trying to collect his thoughts, yet he wasn't sure if he would be able to do that. Blinking his blue eyes slowly, the young man turned his head and saw Obito standing up and smirking down at him. Damn it all, he collected himself quicker than he thought he would.

Obito smirked down at him. His eyes flashing red once again to that strange eye pattern of his. What was it? What was that strange thing with his eyes that he kept doing? He knew for a fact that those were not the eyes of a demon, yet staring at those eyes, almost made him feel a shudder flowing down into his core. A part of him was afraid of those eyes, what was it about those eyes that caused him to be afraid in the first place?

 **"Naruto, do not look into those eyes! I don't know what it would do to you!"** shouted Kurama's voice. How he just came back, Naruto didn't know but he figured that it was because of him no longer wearing that bracer that locked away his demonic chakra. Naruto almost asked why, but Kurama was already speaking. **"Just trust me on this Naruto, you do not want to look into those eyes, those are the eyes of someone who can easily hurt a demon. I don't know if it would affect you with your partial human heritage."**

"I can see it in your eyes. You are afraid of my eyes… I wonder why." Obito said with a smirk. Even though Naruto couldn't see it, he could just about _hear_ the smirk in his voice. Soon, Naruto felt Obito lifting him up by his shirt, causing the younger man to stand back up on his feet once more. Dear lord, what was he going to do? Staring at Obito for a moment, the blonde looked away, not sure if his eyes were normal or not.

"I wonder what would happen if I forced you to stare at me boy…" Obito whispered, getting really close to Naruto's face. Man, what was with this guy and making people uncomfortable? Was it just something he just started to do because he was away from people for so long or he just knew it would make people uncomfortable?

"I don't care what kind of sick things you're into but do not kiss me." Naruto growled out, may as well use humor to try to get his mind and body to relax from the shiver of almost looking at his eyes again.

Obito narrowed his eyes, the red of his eyes faded back to the coal black that he first had. Naruto wondered if his own rage had just caused his chakra to somehow block the power to his eyes. Oh well, he didn't feel that fear anymore, so that had to be something at the very least. Yet, there was something else that had gotten to the raven haired man, he just knew it but he wasn't sure.

"I may be twisted, but I am not gay!" Shouted Obito, tossing Naruto like he was nothing more than a rag doll. Rolling onto the ground a few times, until he landed on his belly and just lied there. Okay, so no more gay jokes with him, that only seemed to piss him off more. Groaning softly, the young man took a deep breath, hoping to get himself off of the ground, he knew that he had to be careful with him still. As soon as his eyes changed, he wouldn't be able to look at him, the fear kept surfacing and it scared him. Making him think that something bad would happen, such as him losing control over himself once more, he couldn't afford that to happen.

Yet, before he could push himself up to his feet, Naruto screamed as he felt a great weight just seem to _slam_ into his spin, making him not just scream, but roar from the pain. Obito laughed as he heard Naruto's mighty roar of pain and torment. He just… laughed, Naruto just laid there on the ground, eyes wide in pain and trying to catch his breath. What the fuck was with this guy?

"You aren't human. No wonder why you are afraid of what my eyes can do. You know, no, you don't know personally but your blood does. Your blood knows of the truth of what my clan, what our eyes can do. How we can do more to you than you want to believe. It's why you keep trying to look away from my eyes when I stare at you with my sharingan." Obito declared with a laugh, a laugh that was filled with insanity. Yup, this guy was insane, that was for sure.

He knew?! Damn it all to hell! Slowly turning his head, Naruto stared at Obito, for once his fear was because someone like him, someone crazy and insane had learned of what he was. Or at the least, of what he wasn't. What did he want from him now? "If I can use you… I can rule the village! Maybe even use you to go further than ever before!" His heart was beating rapidly within his chest. No, he couldn't allow that to happen! Too many lives would be lost!

"I won't allow that!" Shouted Naruto. Only to scream when he felt Obito slam his foot into his spin once more, this fucker was going to get royally beaten if he didn't stop doing that! Damn it all, he had to do something before he could anything! Looking around quickly, trying to get an idea as to what he could do, but there was nothing within his reach that he could use! No way was he going to use his tails, Obito may end up grabbing them!

Wait, he was on dirt… okay, this was going beyond 'fighting dirty' but it was all he got! Acting quickly, he grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it toward the older man's face, causing him to yelp in surprise and jump back rubbing at his face. Naruto quickly stood up, or at least as quickly as he could while he was in pain as he stared at the evil ex-hero. "I won't let you do as you please! I will stop you before you hurt anyone here!"

Obito, even while in pain just smirked. "Oh really? Would you really protect people who hate you? I know for a fact that you aren't human, and yet the people here all hate demons because of what happened all those years ago. They should, by default hate you as well." Naruto just glared, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment before reverting back to normal. "I can tell that I hit a nerve didn't I." He chuckled a little, giving his eyes one last wipe before removing his hands from his slightly blood shot eyes. "You are nothing but a monster to them. You will never be accepted by anyone and you will be seen as nothing but a tool for destruction."

"Shut up!" shouted Naruto.

 **"Don't listen to him Naruto, he's only trying to get you wild up!"** shouted Kurama.

Damn it, he knew that but still… to hear it from a psychopath, it made it a lot worse for him. How, he didn't know but, it just struck a nerve with him. Before he could say anything else, Obito slammed into him once again, shouting out "Show me your true form! I wish to see the form of the monster before me!" Naruto groaned when his back slammed into a tree. God, this hurt, what was this guy trying to do!?

 **"Don't transform Naruto! He'll have a better chance at controlling you. Remain in your human form!"** shouted the fox spirit.

So that's it, the guy was trying to control him? Wait, how would Kurama know this in the first place? Looking up, he saw that Obito rushed at him again, yelling, no, screaming, no not even that, demanding, that Naruto transform into his true self. There was no way that he would allow that. If he was going to fight him, he had to be himself, and being a human, no, a demon, with a human heart meant anything than he would have to stick to this didn't he… didn't he?

Shaking his head, Naruto went to throw in a punch, only for the older man to dodge quickly and slam a kick into the blonde's side, causing him to fall over from the pain. Damn it, what was with him and knocking him down so much?!

"Transform you son of a bitch!" shouted Obito as he slammed his fist against Naruto's face, hoping the pain would force some kind of transformation.

Naruto groaned a little, the amount of hits to his head had caused his vision to blur for the most part. Though he still refused to transform, there was no way that he would allow himself to transform, he didn't know if he could still be controlled with his human blood flowing through him. Yet, he was starting to doubt it since his body kept shivering at the thought of Obito's sharingan.

"I… won't transform." Naruto whispered, only for Obito to slam another punch against the side of his head, right at his temple as Naruto just fell to the ground, just lying there. Naruto felt like his mind was fading in and out. It almost felt like his own illusion to keep himself appear human was fading but not. Wait, did that even make sense?

Blinking slowly, the young man looked up and he couldn't help but stare blankly at the older man, he started to kick at Naruto's stomach. Hoping to get some kind of reaction out of the younger man, yet nothing. The only thing that came from Naruto, was him yelping or whining from pain. His body shimmered, so close to its transformation back to his original form, he tried to hold it, tried to keep his demonic appearance closed off for the time being but damn it all. It was getting harder and harder for him to even do that!

Tightly shutting his eyes, Naruto tried using his strength of will to stop himself from transforming. He didn't want to change, didn't want to allow himself to be used as some kind of weapon. The thought of it, it frightened him a great deal. Even though he himself tried to hide it. Just as his body was giving up the fight in preventing his transformation, a voice yelled out… it sounded familiar, yet… unfamiliar.

 _"Get the fuck away from him you son of a bitch!"_

Naruto turned to the new voice, and he couldn't help but slowly widen his eyes. There stood Hinata, in a fighting stance, her face, instead of being kind, calm and collected, it was fierce, on edge and ready for battle. Yet, she still held that calmness to her that showed that she didn't lose herself to her anger. Obito just stared at her with an amused smile. "Oh? Do you think you can take me on little lady?" Obito mocked.

Hinata just narrowed her lavender coloured eyes at him, it seemed that she didn't take to mocking very well… Naruto tried to speak, tried to warn her to run with her life yet no matter what, he just couldn't speak. The only sounds he could make were soft whines. Most likely from his demonic self.

"I won't allow you to hurt Naruto anymore than you have! I won't let him fight alone!" shouted Hinata before rushing at him, her eyes narrowed into slits as her own anger grew. Yet, it didn't seem to have blinded her thank god for that. Yet, Obito was still quicker than her.

They threw punches, kicks and seemed to be able to dodge each others attacks without any issues. Yet, Obito… it almost seemed like he was only trying to entertain her more than really giving it his all. Naruto groaned and tried to push himself up, he had to do something. Had to do something to get Hinata out of there. Yet, no matter what he did, he just couldn't figure out what it was that he had to do. Yes, he knew that he had to accept himself, both parts of himself but how was he to do that? What was the one thing that he was preventing from happening in the first place?

Coughing a bit, his lungs hurting from the amount of times that Obito had kicked him, knocking the wind out of him. "Hi… na… ta…" whispered Naruto, he had to get back out there. The thought of losing her, it hurt his heart. He had to get out there, had to stop the fighting. He had to fight Obito himself and stop this once and for all so no one else ever got hurt again.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream, causing Naruto to turn to the source. There, laid Hinata, her arm in an odd position, but it wasn't just that… it seemed that she had it dislocated as well as broken. All Naruto could do was stare at her with wide eyes.

"Didn't think you could beat me. Women shouldn't be warriors. I knew one like you once, someone I cared deeply for but she died because she wasn't strong enough! I lost her, because she wanted to be something else, be something different. Well, you and all women need to learn your place here. You can't be more than what you are meant to be!" shouted Obito as he kicked Hinata in her shoulder, causing her even more pain.

No… no! Naruto growled, he had to stop this, had to stop it before it went further! Yet, his body, it wouldn't move! Obito caused more harm to her, kicking her, punching her. Yet, what he saw next was what sent his blood cold. Obito created claws from his own chakra, slashing at Hinata and picking her up, stabbing her in the stomach causing her to scream all the more. Naruto couldn't stand this anymore!

Tightly shutting his eyes, he hoped and prayed to whoever the hell was listening to him, that would help him. His heart ached for Hinata, seeing her go through such pain. His demonic blood burned and yerned to hurt the one who dare cause the one he loved pain. Both parts of him, wanted one thing, and one thing only.

To protect Hinata.

A whirlwind of flames surrounded Naruto, causing both Obito and Hinata to stare at the scene in shock. It seemed that neither of them expected this to happen, yet Hinata felt like something horrible had happened to the fox demon. "Naruto…" she whispered.

Naruto could feel everything happen to him. He felt like a dam had broken, allowing the flow of his human and demon chakra to burst forth, merging and swirling together into one. His fox ears appeared, as did his tails, claws and fangs. Yet, his feet did not remain the same, and had become the legs of a fox instead. His hair completely turned blonde as his chakra grew in power and strength. Yet, his eyes, only one of them changed for the most part. Both pupils turned into slits, but left eye turned crimson, while the other remained blue. The whisker marks became thicker, as did his hair. As soon as the whirlwind left, Naruto stood there in his new form just glaring down at Obito.

"Okay you son of a bitch, you wanted me to transform, well here I am. Ready to take you the fuck down!"


	23. Final Battle

As Naruto stood there, he could feel the amount of power that was flowing through him. The power, the energies of both his human and demon chakra's just seemed to be flowing together as one. Taking a look at his new form, he wondered how this worked. Sure, he knew that he had pretty much everything that his demon form would have but this one, it was still slightly different. More so with the fox legs, he was just standing on the pads of the fox paws, as if he was standing on his hind legs. Was that what it was? Maybe.

Though, now wasn't the time to be fascinated with his new form. Right now, he had to kick some serious ass and beat the living daylight out of Obito. Turning his gaze back to Obito and Hinata, the young man knew that he had to get Hinata out of there. Growling softly, he ran quickly toward them and jumped in the air, kicking Obito's head and quickly grabbed Hinata. Holding her in his arms, he rushed off as quickly as his legs would carry him. Once he was sure that he was far enough, he looked at Hinata as he set her down. "Just stay here okay? I don't want you getting hurt again." Naruto calmly said, hoping that he didn't get them caught.

"Naruto what happened to you?" asked Hinata with a frown.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think this form was created from my human and demon chakra's merging. I don't know if it's permanent or not, but I'll use this power to stop Obito." Naruto answered her softly. Closing his blue and crimson eyes before looking at her again. "For now, just stay here and relax okay? Or maybe even see if you can check on Jiraiya. He was badly beaten too."

Hinata looked like she wanted to argue with him yet, the expression on his face told her not to. She let out a soft sigh as she nodded her head. "Alright." Naruto smiled a little before turning his gaze, fox ears flickering in the direction of where they had left Obito. It seemed that he was already looking for the two of them. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed himself back up to his… feet? Paws? Whatever, and ran off to stop Obito from finding Hinata.

Naruto knew that even with this new form of his, he still had no idea what it could do to him. The power almost seemed overwhelming yet, he kept his sense of self about him. Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel threatened anymore. He knew that Obito was still a threat, yet he didn't feel like he was going to lose control over himself or black out. What changed?

Shaking his head, the young man growled when he smelled Obito coming towards him. It seemed that the raven haired man sensed his chakra, and was heading towards him. To be honest, Naruto hoped that Hinata was able to hide her own chakra, he couldn't take it if he lost Hinata in anyway. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, hoping to calm himself down, he knew that if he got himself worked up, he could expel his chakra which, could cause a less than savory issue.

Obito burst through from the trees and bushes as he glared at the demon warrior. Naruto just gave the ex-warrior a calm stare, as if he showed no importance to him in the least. It seemed that Obito was losing control over his temper, for his anger was starting to flare, to the point where it almost burned at Naruto. "What's the matter? Mad that I got a move in?" He chuckled a little before crossing his arms over his chest.

Obito glared as he said "How is it that you changed like that?! A demon normally just shift just like that." He snapped his fingers before he let out a slight human growl. "Though, I won't lie you have a lot of power. Maybe I could use you just like how I used those demons all those years ago." Naruto's ears flickered at those words. Wh-What was he talking about? "Oh, you don't know do you?" Naruto just glared, he felt like he did but he just couldn't remember…

"Years ago, I tried to rule over this village with demons. I can easily control demons without any kind of issue but I was stopped. Demons were freed and ran off thinking they'd be possessed again." Obito said with a glare, only to smirk. "But, maybe with your help I may be able to do it again." He chuckled a little, getting ready to make his way towards Naruto, his eyes ablaze with the sharingan.

As soon as the sharingan was activated, he felt a slight chill going up his spine, but it wasn't as bad as before. It did have him confused about it, but knew that he still had to be cautious about the man's eyes. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto calmly said "I won't allow you to control me. I will protect this village no matter what."

"Even if everyone in the village hates you?" Smirked Obito.

"Even then, because I rather them be safe than to have them dead. If they hate me still because of what I am, and what I'm not then so be it. I still have people who care about me." Naruto answered with a calm expression within his eyes. His ears flickered in Obito's direction before he said "You though, you will be going down today. I won't allow you to hurt anyone else again."

Obito glared at the demon before he rushed at him and screamed out in rage. Naruto jumped out of the way and spun around kicking Obito in the back. There was no way that he would allow Obito to get close enough to control him. Well, that was assuming that he could even be controlled, he had no idea even with him having human blood if it would still work.

Obito quickly turned around and threw his fist at Naruto's jaw. Sending the fox demon sprawling on the ground for a moment before he twisted his body around and landed on his feet. Narrowing his eyes, the young demon flexed his claws, using his control over wind chakra to sharpen his claws as he rushed forward, swiping his claws at the ex-hero. Obito just glared as he dodged all of the attacks, his eyes trying to focus on the demon before him.

Naruto wondered if he would be able to make this quick and painless. He knew that he had to be quick regardless. He didn't know if Hinata had made it to Jiraiya, but he knew that he had to be careful. Throwing a fist, Naruto send Obito flying into one of the nearby buildings, the force of his body slamming into the building had caused an indent of Obito's body. Okay, to be honest, Naruto hadn't expected that in the first place but he wasn't going to complain.

Taking a deep breath, the young man rushed forward though Obito was able to dodge the strike, causing Naruto to slam his fist into the brick building. Breathing deeply, the young man turned his head to stare at Obito and smirked at him for a moment. He was up to something, though he wasn't sure. Pulling his fist out of the building, he had to think of something else. Growling at him, the young man rushed toward Obito. Though, Obito ran off and ran up the tallest building in the village.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto created flames in his palms as he said "That won't stop me!" He then tossed them toward the older man, knocking him over before rushing to the other side of the building. Yet, what surprised him was enough to make him say "Oh shit." For Obito threw what looked like a fire bomb, causing it to explode sending Naruto flying through the air and laid on the ground. Groaning, the young man tried to push himself up only to wince from the pain.

Groaning, the young man tried to push himself on once again and shakily got himself up to his feet. His chakras healing him a bit quicker than it would before. Must be because of his human chakra mixing as well. Looking up, he saw Obito walking slowly to him, causing Naruto to growl a little.

Breathing deeply, the young man got himself into a self-defence position, he had to think of what Obito was going to do next. With how the man's mind was, how unstable it was there was no telling what would happen next. Though, Obito just smirked as he held up fire balls in his hands. "Let's play ball shall we?" Obito said before throwing ball after ball of flames at Naruto.

Naruto without thinking started to run on all fours, his back legs helping to build up his speed as he ran, going left and right, sliding a bit as he tried to turn direction. Maybe this was why he had the legs, it was to help with his speed with dodging in a way. Looking up for a moment, he saw that Obito just kept creating new fire balls and kept trying to get Naruto closer. Well, if that was what he wanted, then he would get just that. Though he had to think of something in order for him to try to get close enough to get a strike in.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto looked at one of the buildings, maybe he could use that. Breathing deeply, he rushed for the building and started to run up it. Using his claws on both his paws and hands as he ran circles around the building as he slowly made his way to the top. Maybe from up there he could attack Obito, or maybe even get the drop on him? That would be rather amazing for sure though he knew that he still had to think things through instead of just attacking without plans.

Breathing deeply, he managed to make it to the top of the building, no longer feeling the heat of flames near him the young man took a look around. Wondering where Obito was. What the hell? Tilting his head to the side in confusion, he had no idea but knew that he had to be somewhere.

Sniffing the air, he couldn't locate the crazy man's scent. It almost seemed as if he had just up and disappeared for some reason. Tilting his head to the side, he whispered "Where the fuck is he?" He sighed softly before the young man started to turn around to get a different view, until he yelped in shock. For standing there, was Obito with a big twisted insane grin on his face. "How did you-?!"

"Boo." He said before punching the demon in the stomach, causing him to scream as he fell off the building and crash landed on the ground. Groaning, Naruto just laid there for a few minutes, maybe seconds. He had no idea, he knew that he had to get up before Obito attacked him once again. Opening his eyes, he stared with wide eyes as Obito had already jumped off the building, following Naruto right after he had pushed the fox demon off the building.

Before Naruto could even get off the ground, Obito had him pinned, using flames to create kunai and stab him in the shoulders. Naruto screamed in pain as he felt the fire burning through his flesh and gritted his fangs together hoping to get all of this pain to stop. Looking up in shock, Naruto stared at Obito as he saw that Obito's eyes were… spinning. Eyes widening in shock, he heard Obito saying "Soon you shall be under my power." He chuckled a little, Naruto felt his fear rising, and it was rising quickly.

 _'Dear god, I'm going to lose my mind!'_ thought Naruto, he couldn't move, he didn't think he could move anymore! In fact, he felt panic starting to settle in. His thoughts kept going to Hinata, his father and everyone else in the village. Thinking that they were going to get killed by his claws.

 **"Naruto, relax! You won't be controlled! If you were, you would have lost your thoughts the moment he even got this close and stared at your eyes!"** shouted Kurama, hoping to calm down Naruto.

Naruto just laid there in both shock and pain. He would have… but… what did that mean?

 **"Your human blood, it must protect you from being controlled by the sharingan. I didn't think it was possible but, you're immune. Not to the fear sadly but immune to the control itself."** said Kurama in awe.

Well, that brought a bit of relief to Naruto, which gave him a whole new way of kicking Obito's ass. Oh this was going to be sweet for sure, though it still wouldn't stop the man from trying to control the demon part of Naruto. Focusing his chakra to surround him, Naruto created a whirlwind of blades to attack the mad man that had him pinned down to the ground. The attack itself, had caused Obito to scream from the pain as he jumped off of the demon and stared in shock. "What the fuck?!"

The flaming kunai disappeared from his shoulder, allowing the younger man to sit up and rise to his feet at long last. "How can I not control you?! You're a demon, demons are meant to be controlled!" shouted Obito with anger and rage.

The way he sounded, the way he looked, it all just made Naruto smile. Chuckling to himself, the younger man looked up as he said "Maybe it only works on full demons. I, am not a full blooded demon." He chuckled a little more before narrowing his eyes. "I am a demon, with the blood of a human." With that, he rushed forward to attack, not things were getting serious.

Naruto rushed forward, his nine tails swinging behind him as he charged. Obito, of course had no idea what the hell was happening. All he knew, was that he was about to get fucked up. Naruto threw a punch to Obito's jaw, only to swing his body around and kick him in the side. Obito flew and rolled onto the ground a bit before rolling back onto his feet and looked up hoping to defend himself. Yet, even he couldn't do anything as Naruto thrust his tails forward, wrapping them around the mad man before slamming him into a wall then the ground.

Obito cried out from the pain. There was no way that Obito would be allowed to live. Even though, he knew that killing was wrong. That killing anyone wouldn't be right but, to allow someone like Obito to live, to allow him another chance to hurt or worse kill someone. It wouldn't be worth the risk. He couldn't risk everyone's lives just because he had a moment of a soft heart.

Growling, Naruto dropped Obito as he slammed his foot into the crazy man's stomach, hoping to slow him down. Even before, Obito was fast, though Naruto, thanks to his new fox legs and new abilities allowed him, no, gave him the speed that he needed to beat him.

Obito blew flames into Naruto's face, causing him to be blinded for a brief moment. The fox demon had small burns to his skin, thanks to his ability over fire, he was slightly resistant to fire for the most part. Growling, the younger man got a good look at Obito as he staggered to his feet. "You… are nothing… but a stupid fox!" shouted Obito.

Naruto growled before holding out his arm as he said "I'm not a stupid fox, I'm _the_ stupid fox." Than he held out his other hand and made a swiping motion over his open palm as a sphere of swirling blue chakra formed on his hand. Causing Obito to stare in shock at the move that no one had ever been able to do in hundreds of years. "There is… no way that you could have mastered it!"

"Oh, but I have." Naruto growled out as he rushed forward. Obito couldn't move, his body frozen to the spot in shock as he stared at the one attack that even he, himself hadn't been able to master. To see someone else master the move, almost made him wonder if this was how destiny had seen things for him. Closing his eyes, he had a small sad smile on his face. As soon as he heard the shout, Obito knew that things were done for him.

 _"Rasengan!"_

A burst of wind, smoke and dust flew and surrounded the entire area, covering it in a dust cloud as it flew out through the entire forest. Naruto knew one thing, before the attack had made its mark, it had almost seemed as if Obito's anger, and hatred had just… faded. It almost seemed as if he had given up as soon as he saw the very move that even Jiraiya had trouble mastering. Why that was, he had no idea though it did have him confused a great deal. Staring down at the torn body of Obito, Naruto couldn't help but feel a small hint of pity for the man. He only became this, because of the lost love that he had.

It almost made him wonder, if that would be what happened to him if he had ever lost Hinata. Taking a deep breath, he started to turn only to stare in shock at everyone that now started to walk through the cloud. Had they heard him? Or, have they always been nearby? He had no idea, and his eyes were wide as he stared at them. Thinking that they were going to attack him in some form or fashion.

"Um…" was all he could say before everyone started to cheer and rush to him. Yelping in shock, Naruto had no idea what was going on but everyone lifted him up and cheering about how they were all saved. Even Iruka had showed up, causing him to blush at his words.

"That warrior is my son and I couldn't be prouder of him than I ever was!" Sure, he was used to his father's praise but it still made him blush a little. Chuckling to himself, the young man couldn't help but smile before he felt everyone starting to put him down. He guessed that his tails were bugging them a bit, it may still bug them that he was a demon but hey, it was a start.

Turning to the villagers, he calmly said "I'm just happy that you're all safe. Though…" He still felt bad that he had to take a life in order to save them. Inhaling deeply, he calmly said "Let's all just fix up the village and enjoy our lives huh?" He chuckled a bit and started to walk on ahead, he had to make sure that Hinata and the others were okay, looking up, he saw Hinata, limping over to him with a small smile on her face. She sure did seem a lot better for sure. "Hinata." He whispered with a smile.

"You did it Naruto… I knew you could." She said with a smile.

"What about Jiraiya? Did you ever see him?" asked Naruto.

"He's alright. The healers were able to help him." Answered Hinata.

Sighing softly, he was thankful that Jiraiya didn't lose his life. Everything was the way it should be, at least to him. Turning back to Obito's unmoving body, he saw that his destiny was done though, was there still more to it than meets the eye? He had no idea, but he had a feeling that his life was far… from…

"Naruto?" asked Hinata with a frown on her face. Seeing him swaying from side to side as he soon, started to fall over onto the ground. "Naruto!?"

Darkness had appeared at the edges of his vision, his body felt numb and his mind felt lightheaded. Before he knew what had happened, he had blacked out.

* * *

 **okay everyone, next chapter is the last one. Now, I hope you all like the transformation that Naruto had gone through and I shall explain more about it in the next chapter. Other than that, there will be a bonus chapter which, mind you is the first time I've done it in either a long while or ever. Anyway, after this story I shall be going back to updating Demon's Bride and Werewolf Among the Leaves, plus, a new story. another crossover themed story this time with Zootopia. Now, I hope you look forward to that idea when the time comes. Later everyone.**


	24. End

Naruto groaned softly, his body hurt. In fact, he felt horribly drained for some reason. Blinking his blue eyes slowly, he looked around and saw that he was in his room back at his father's place. Must have been closer instead of having to carry him over those stairs. Rubbing his face, the young man took another look around and saw that he was alone. His father must have thought that he'd sleep for a little while longer.

Chuckling softly, Naruto slowly pushed himself to stand back up and slowly crawled out of bed and stood on his feet. Hm… it felt… different. Looking down at himself, he saw that he had normal human legs again. Reaching up, he touched his ears and didn't feel fox ears. Must have reverted back to his human appearance as he slept. Shaking his head, the young man started to make his way downstairs wondering what everyone was doing. Or worse yet, was everything a dream? No, his body hurt too much for all of that to have been a dream.

As he carefully made his way down the stairs, the young man felt his legs give out, causing him to yelp and fall down the stairs. Groaning, the young man pushed himself up slightly, trying to wonder why his body still felt so… so weak.

"Naruto!" shouted his father, among a few others. Looking up, he saw his father, right behind him was Hinata, Shikamaru, TenTen, Temari, and Lee. Though he didn't see any of the other masters, so it had him curious as to where they could be. Iruka was the first to reach him and help the younger man up to his feet before bringing him over to one of the chairs that was in the kitchen. "You okay? You just blacked out after the battle." Iruka asked with concern.

"Yeah, I just feel sore and drained. I don't really know what happened… or how I changed back. I almost thought that transformation was permanent but I won't complain, I'm happy it wasn't." Naruto said with a soft sigh. Looking up at everyone, he wondered why they still had so much worry and concern on their faces. Was there something wrong with him that they weren't sharing or were they just concerned? "Is something wrong?" he asked with a frown.

Hinata was the first to speak up.

"We thought you wouldn't wake up. You just… fell, and you wouldn't respond to anyone or anything we did. I… I honestly thought you were going to die." Hinata looked like she was close to tears, making the young demon wanting to hold her in his arms though, sadly he didn't have the strength to stand long yet.

"I though," Shikamaru spoke finally, started to explain something. "I have come to some kind of conclusion about your new form Naruto." Naruto turned to him with a frown on his face. "Most demons, from what I have learned can maintain a human, or demon form depending on their ability. Fox demons, are masters of that skill. Though when there was a half-demon living, they could switch to their other form at will or lose all their demonic chakra once a month. Though it seems that you are more demon, than human…" That still confused Naruto a great deal. How could he be more demon than human when his father was all human?

"From what I could tell, the form that you have now, is when you use only human chakra. When you are in the form you were most accustom too, such as danger to arise or when you choose too, use your demon chakra, take on that form. Yet, the form with Obito…" Shikamaru paused, it almost seemed as if he was trying to give it some kind of dramatic effect. Why that was, he had no damn idea but it was killing him. "It is the form given to you, when you use both. Almost a perfect mixture of your heritage so to speak but still with slightly more demonic features. Yet, since that form is powerful it is also dangerous."

Okay, that made Naruto frown a bit. How could it be dangerous at all in the first place? "What do you mean?" asked Naruto with a frown on his face.

"You see, because you are using both parts of your chakra, you are exhausting your main sources quicker. When you only used one half of yourself, you were never at risk of losing your life." Shikamaru explained before closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "Yet with both, you are exhausting it more, and putting a strain on your body and mind. Hence why you are sore and drained. You used up a lot of chakra even when you didn't really use it. More so when you used the Rasengan. It took up the last of your chakra that you could spare without it killing you. It had taken its toll on you after the rush of battle faded. You've been asleep for about three days since then."

So that was why he blacked out. No wonder, it had taken so much- wait… "I was asleep for three days?!" How was that even possible?! How could he have been asleep for so long in the first place?! That doesn't make sense to him!

"You were. Your demonic chakra had to recover as did your human chakra. We couldn't find any trace of your chakra before and we all feared the worse for you." Temari said with a frown on her face.

So, that was why he hadn't spoken to Kurama or Sachi. They were too worn out for him to even speak to them. Rubbing his face a bit, the young man tried to think on what he should do or say, there had to be something that he could do, yet he had no idea as to what it could be. Breathing deeply, the young man tried to calm himself down. Tried to get himself to relax, knowing that if he got himself worked up it would only cause more harm than good at this point. Taking a deep breath, he asked "So, what happened while I was asleep?"

"Everyone in the village have been wanting to make sure that you were okay. Obito was buried next to Rin. Master Kakashi knew he would have wanted it that way… and the village has mostly been fixed up thus far." Shino said with his monotone voice. Well, at least that was something. Though it still worried him that the villagers now saw him in a different light all because he saved them all from a mad man.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked out the window as he wondered what would happen for his life now. Sure, he was still the Furious Fox, but he was still only… him. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Naruto asked "So, what will be the plan now that Obito is dead?" Turning to stare at the others, he saw that they just had a calm stare on their expressions.

"Well, we're hoping you stay with us in the palace. Keep the village safe." Hinata said with a big smile on her face. Naruto smiled, to be honest he liked that idea… Turning to his father, he wondered what his father would think. To be honest, it had always had his father worried for his son to be fighting though, maybe that was because of the black outs that he would sometimes face. Wait, now that he thought about it, he didn't have any black outs at all, and he could feel Obito's insanity and hate, part of that hate was at him but… nothing.

"Why didn't I black out?" asked Naruto with a frown.

"I think it is because before, you would black out as a self-defence mechanism. When you felt threatened, and had no way to properly defend yourself, you would go to some kind of primitive state." Shikamaru explained. That of course just made Naruto blink in confusion. "In other terms, when you didn't think you could defend yourself, you would lose control over your body, to the part of you that wants to only fight to either kill, or defend yourself. Yet, when Hinata went to face you, you felt no threat from her. Because, she didn't want to hurt you, in fact she wanted to help you so you relaxed and calmed down."

Hm, that did make some sense… he figured anyway.

Shaking his head, the young man pushed himself back up onto his legs, only to wobble a bit and sit back down. "Damn it…" He wanted to get up, wanted to make his way to the palace yet, it seemed that his body had other plans. For he couldn't make his way off of a damn chair now! Taking a deep breath, the young man tried again, using what chakra he did regain from his long slumber and pushed himself to stand up once more. For once, he felt strength in his legs, able to stand though, still a bit wobbly on his legs but it was better than nothing.

Breathing shakily, the young man looked at everyone as he said "I need to go to the palace. There is something I need to confirm there." He needed to speak to Kakashi. There was a lot that he was hiding, he knew that much but what that was he had no idea but knew, that he had to see and do something to get those answers no matter what he had to do. "Kakashi is still at the palace right?" When he saw everyone's nods, Naruto started to make his way to the palace.

"Naruto, you need to rest more." Hinata said with a frown.

"She's right, you used up almost all of your chakra!" TenTen said with concern.

"I'm fine everyone, I can handle walking." He said with a big goofy smile on his face before he started to make his way out of his father's home. Giving them a wave as he said "Don't wait up for me." He chuckled a bit before walking off.

* * *

Breathing deeply, Naruto was hunched over, his hands resting on his knees as he tried to collect himself. Man, the walk took a lot out of him this time around, though must be because of lack of chakra this time. Looking around, he saw that the palace was still in good shape, even with Obito's beatings of Jiraiya. Frowning a bit, he walked on ahead, wondering where Kakashi could be. Taking a sniff around, he could faintly smell the scent of dogs. Why Kakashi mostly smelled of dogs, he had no idea, but he wasn't going to complain.

Following the scent, he could see some flowers, roses, daisies, lilies and other kinds of flowers that he couldn't even think of. Now that he thinks about it, he's never been to this part of the palace before. It was rather confusing and shocking but, then again what wasn't at this point in his life.

Sniffing the air once more, he made a sharp turn and followed a hidden path. Why it was hidden, he had no idea. But knew, that he had to keep following it if he wanted his one question answered.

Soon, the scent had reached its highest point, causing the young demon to stop at some bushes. Tilting his head, the young demon moved aside the bushes and there, he saw Kakashi sitting on a bench in front of two grave stones. One, was a bit old for it was already covered in grass and flowers on the ground. While the other one, was freshly dug up. Kakashi was holding onto flowers, before he set them on top of each graves.

Naruto couldn't see his expression, but he could… could _feel_ it. It was a mixture of sadness, and some kind of happiness. But, why would he be happy in the first place? That didn't make sense to him but, he had to know the answer to something that had been bugging him. "Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

"Come sit with me Naruto." Kakashi said, not turning away from the graves.

Gulping a bit, Naruto made his way to the bench and sat down, looking over at the older man before turning back to the graves. Before Naruto could open his mouth, Kakashi already started to speak. "These graves, are for Rin and Obito." Rin? Wasn't that the girl that Obito was in love with? The very reason for his change in attitude? Turning back to the grave, Naruto couldn't help but stare in awe, wondering why he was buried next to her, even after everything he's done.

"Kakashi, I want to ask you something." Naruto said with a soft voice, before turning to look up at the older man. "Before I used the Rasengan on Obito… all of his anger, his hate… it all faded into acceptance. Why would that happen?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment. It almost made him wonder if Kakashi even knew the answer in the first place. Just as he turned away, not expecting any kind of answer, it was when Kakashi finally spoke, causing him to stare in shock. "Obito, accepted his fate to die… because that was what he really wanted." Naruto couldn't help but stare at him in shock why would that be something that he really wanted in the first place? That didn't make sense to him in the least! It just didn't make sense! What was going on here?!

"After Rin died, Obito had tried to end his life many times. Jiraiya though never knew about it, I did and only myself. When Obito focused on something else, he became obsessed with it because it helped him to forget about his pain." Kakashi said with a sigh before turning to Obito's grave. It seemed that even just knowing what his friend had really wanted, even after all this time, still hurt his heart. "His desire for power, even though it is no excuse, was only him grieving. The training kept his mind off for moments at a time until he'd remember and try to kill himself later. I'd stop him and that kept going for years."

"Obito… missed her that much?" asked Naruto with a frown.

"He loved her that much. Sometimes, you can't help who you love or how much you love them. While Obito was locked away, I'm sure that he kept thinking about Rin, so much so that it drove him to insanity. He had hoped, that when he would escape that someone would be strong enough to kill him… as soon as he saw you using the Rasengan, something that even he himself, couldn't master he knew that you were the one to kill him." Kakashi calmly explained before leaning back against his seat a bit before turning to Naruto. "You should know, after all wouldn't you be sad if Hinata was lost to you?"

Turning away, Naruto thought long and hard on it… well, maybe not long on it but he knew that… he would feel like that to a degree. "I would…" Naruto whispered.

"But, because of your demon nature, if you made a promise to her to keep living, you would. If you are anything like your grandfather." Kakashi said with a chuckle.

Naruto quickly turned to Kakashi with wide eyes, only to stare at him in shock. "Wait you knew my grandfather?! How?!"

"I met him long ago in my youth. Your grandfather, was a powerful demon yes… falling madly in love with a human woman and kept living even after her death. Knowing that he had to keep his promise to look after their child… and his people. Yet her death had weakened him quite a bit." Wait that sounded like… no way. That sounded like Kurama and Sachi! Damn it all, he wanted more answers but now he had to talk to his chakra spirits because of this!

"Kakashi, I have one more question for you before I go."

"What is it?"

"Were you the one who I delivered that package too? Because… your scent, it is just like it." Naruto said with a frown.

"It was me yes."

"Then… what was in that package?"

"Sorry, but I cannot reveal that now Naruto, you'll find out when the time is right."

Sighing at the answer, Naruto pushed himself up and started to make his way out of the garden. Though Kakashi just couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he pulled out a small object. It was something that he had been looking for, for years now and had found it. But, he couldn't pick it up at the time because it was tainted in a dark aura. He had to get a priest to remove the aura and have it sent to his home village. Now that it was here, it was only a matter of time before Naruto would be ready to use it… until then, "I'll hold onto it… his father would want it that way."

* * *

Naruto made it to a quite area. He had to speak to Sachi and Kurama. If his chakras had fused then maybe they have interacted with the other by now. There had to be a chance of that at least. Narrowing his eyes for a brief moment, he sat down and got into a meditated stance on the ground before he started to focus on his chakra network. It was still faint but he could at least feel himself be drawn into his chakra.

 _"Kurama, Sachi?" called out Naruto, hoping that he had some kind of answer from the two chakra spirits. Yet, he found nothing. All he could see, was the field of flowers, and the sakura tree. So he knew that the realms had in a sense, fused with each other. But, nothing else…_

 _Looking around, he turned his head, hoping that he could hear something but nothing. His demonic hearing was too weak to even hear the way it should. Sure, still stronger than a human but still weaker compared to a demon. Shaking his head, the young man started to make his way to the tree, hoping that would be where he'd find Kurama. It was the only thing that he could think of to do. Yet what he saw was something that he couldn't help but stare in wonder._

 _There, sitting under the tree was Kurama, with his arm wrapped around Sachi. Her head, tucked gently under his chin against his neck. With his head resting atop of hers. Both of them were sound asleep but, they seemed so happy. How was it that they could look so peaceful, so joyous right now? Were they really… had they been…?_

 _Kurama's ear twitched in Naruto's direction only for the demon to open his crimson eyes and looked up at Naruto. Yawning loudly, the demon gently shook Sachi's shoulder causing her to wake up as well. Wait, did chakra spirits even sleep? What the hell?_

 _"Naruto." Came Kurama's voice, still laced with sleep before he pulled Sachi to her feet as she herself started to wake up. The demon walked with the other spirit towards him, it had him curious, wondering what it was that they would say to him now. He had so many questions yet little answers at this point. "I don't know how to thank you."_

 _"Thank me? For what?" asked Naruto._

 _Chuckling, Kurama looked down at Sachi, love in his crimson eyes. A kind of love that went beyond life and death itself. Almost made Naruto wonder if his own love for Hinata was that powerful. "You brought me and Sachi together again. I had… no idea that she was the other half of your chakra…"_

 _"When you fused both chakras together, Kurama and myself were able to see each other again… to be happy again. All this time, I thought I'd have to keep searching for him only to see that he was there all this time. A wall, surrounded us." Sachi said with a smile on her face._

 _A wall… because he was afraid to be himself. Now he felt like a selfish prick._

 _"Naruto, we are so happy that we could be together, now we can help you in your battles and never have to worry about being a part again." Kurama said with a smile on his face._

 _Naruto lowered his gaze, feeling like he was the worst kind of person in the world. He had kept these two apart all this time, his whole life just because he was afraid of being who he was meant to be. Tightly shutting his eyes, the young man opened his mouth, wanting to say he is sorry but Kurama held up his hand, to silence him. "Do not worry. We cannot be mad at you. It wasn't like you knew anything about this. We sure as hell didn't. Nothing can be done about it now, all you have to do is be happy that is the only thing we ever want."_

 _"Now, what brought you to visit us Naruto?" asked Sachi, her kind smile still in place._

 _"Um… you see, someone told me that he knew my grandfather and… his story, sounded a lot like the ones you both told me so… I have to know… are you my grandparents?" Naruto asked at last._

 _Sachi and Kurama both stared with wide eyes before looking at each other. They stared, a silent conversation going on between the two as if they were trying to think on how to speak the truth to him. Breathing deeply, the young man looked back to Naruto before Kurama stepped forward and closed his eyes. "It's true. I'm your grandfather Kurama, and Sachi is your grandmother. I'm sorry that I had to keep this from you Naruto, but it's just that… you were not ready to know the truth. More so when you kept rejecting your demonic heritage. I figured I'd tell you when I knew you were ready, which I guess would be now huh."_

 _"We didn't mean to hide it from you Naruto. You just struggled so long to stop feeling like an outcast, we thought that we could do it ourselves to guide you to who you should be." Sachi added in, her own frown in place as she stared at her grandson._

 _Naruto looked at either one of them, wondering if he could tell that they were lying to him. Shaking his head, the young man knew that he couldn't hate them. No, far from it… "I'm not mad to be honest, I'm… kinda glad you didn't tell me right away. I can see your point… Me, trying to be something that I'm not so I know that you would feel so dejected to know that your grandchild hated what he was." Naruto chuckled a little before he said "I'm… proud to be who I am now. I'm not ashamed of anything anymore." He chuckled a little more before he yelped and felt that both Kurama and Sachi were both hugging him. Both of them had tears in their eyes as they held onto him._

 _Now, Naruto would normally push people away from something like this… but, at the moment he didn't give a damn. He couldn't help but hug them both back as he buried his face in whoever was closest and just held onto them._

 _Opening his eyes for a moment, he saw that his body was fading a bit. His chakra was still too weak to contain him in this realm. Looking up at them, he calmly said "I should had back. You're both still weak from the battle, I'll let you both go back to sleep… if you call that sleep." He chuckled._

 _Kurama and Sachi let go of Naruto and smiled at him. Both just happy to be together at long last, but happier to see that they could finally tell the truth about their connection to Naruto. "We'll see you again Naruto." Kurama said, holding onto Sachi before Naruto finally faded back to the real world._

Naruto groaned a bit as he opened his eyes, he still had one more thing to do. He had to tell Jiraiya about what happened with Obito. Pushing himself up, the young man shakily made his way to the main hall. Knowing that was where Jiraiya would be. He was normally there anyway. Making his way there, the young man wondered what he would say… that his student accepted death just so he could be with another?

Walking up the few steps, thankful that the hall wasn't far from him. Shaking his head, the young man opened the door as he called out to Jiraiya. "Come in Naruto." Jiraiya said with a calm voice before starting to make his way inside. "What do you need? Also, I am happy to see you walking about." Jiraiya said, his voice still calm.

Taking a seat next to Jiraiya on the floor, the young man calmly said "I need to tell you something. A few things to be honest. Um… Obito tried to control me with his sharingan. Yet, I was immune thanks to my human blood." Jiraiya opened his eyes, his body, now that he thought about it, was covered in bandages from the beatings that he had endured. "And… Obito, accepted his death when I used the Rasengan."

Jiraiya looked away as he let out a soft sigh. "So, his heart was already taken over by grief. Even if I hadn't helped him, he would have just wanted to die anyway. That was why, Hiruzen didn't accept him… and how the prophecy came to be." Wait, prophecy? What was he talking about? "I guess Obito just wanted one good fight before he died, and his own mind was already taken over by madness."

"Master Jiraiya, what prophecy? You only said that there was to be a destined warrior. I knew nothing of a prophecy…" Naruto said with a frown.

Jiraiya sighed softly before he titled his head upward, his eyes in a daze as they almost seemed to glaze over in memory.

 _"A human once thought to be a hero. It later becomes a monster.  
The people thought that it had a heart colder than subzero. The people fear that it was just an imposter.  
A human thought to be a monster, and becomes a hero.  
After seeing how the people could prosper, the once thought monster is no longer a zero.  
The monster, who was thought to be evil.  
It turns out the monster is one with a soul not a devil.  
It has a heart so pure, that he would defeat the once great hero.  
To have such pureness in order to cure, one must be as pure as shiro.  
But, his heart is at risk of turning to darkness  
As it continues to live in fear and hate, it will eventually become heartless.  
If it does not feel any love or compassion then it will surely meet its fate, hopefully one will hear the monster's plight.  
It shall fall into darkness and destroy the world or it may save it with light."_

Naruto blinked in shock. That was the prophecy that was about him and Obito? But, that doesn't make sense to him, it almost seemed like this was nothing more than a dream. "What does it all mean?" asked Naruto.

"Obito, was once seen as a hero before madness set in. You, you were seen as a monster am I wrong? But really, you are better than most humans, kinder than most people in general. Yet you were at risk of becoming like Obito, someone taken over by madness but from what I have seen, Hinata was able to keep you away from that darkness." Taking a deep breath, he added "And, she was the key to you unlocking your true potential. You unlocked the true you that was needed to stop Obito." Jiraiya sighed softly before turning to the younger man and chuckled a bit. "I won't lie, I am sad that Obito couldn't have moved on but, this was what he wanted. To join Rin in death." This had to have hit Jiraiya more than anyone thought, he saw Obito like a son he figured. To have to deal with something like that, it must have hurt more than anyone could ever guess.

"Master Jiraiya, I want to keep protecting the village from danger." Naruto said with seriousness in his voice.

Chuckling, the older man nodded his head. "You may, but focus on recovering your chakra. You are still very weak. The village will be fine with the five until you've recovered." Naruto grinned and nodded. For now he'll just settle for helping his father for now. Pushing himself up onto his feet, the younger man promised that he would come back once he had recovered.

Making his way out of the palace, Naruto couldn't help but look up at the sky. He got a few things answered, yet he still had a few questions that he wasn't sure he'd get the answer from in the first place. Letting out a soft sigh, Naruto looked up at the sky as he thought about what his father said about his mother. She was here, but now she wasn't anymore. Did she take off? Did she… die? Ugh, so many thoughts flowing through his mind yet he had no idea what it could be. Maybe one day he'll learn the truth but maybe, it was one of those things that he'd never learn about.

Shaking his head, Naruto looked on ahead and smiled. There, by the stairs was Hinata… His heart beating a bit quicker but he couldn't help but give her a gentle smile. Maybe, for now he could just focus on the present and right now, his present is with Hinata and the others. Rushing to Hinata, he knew that right now his life was perfect the way it is.

 **The end…**

* * *

 **okay, I hope this answered a few questions, at least I'm hoping and the questions that needed to be answered. Some of them I plan to leave for a sequel that I do want to write. Now, I hope you all enjoyed the story and look forward to a bonus chapter for it will be how Sachi and Kurama met and fell in love. Now, look forward to a new story, a crossover of Naruto and Zootopia. That's right, Naruto as Nick Wilde and Hinata as Judy Hopps. that will be the next story I'll start on, it'll be called 'Utopia' since that was the best name suggested to me thus far. Later, also I may have the bonus chapter up next month and the new story up in a week if that. Later**


	25. Bonus Chapter Kurama and Sachi

_'I… I can't feel anything…'_ Thought a crimson haired man. He blinked his faded crimson eyes as he walked through the forest. Having just gone through a battle, his body was covered in blood, both his own, and the blood of those he's killed. _'I don't know… if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.'_ He stumbled a bit, his footing a bit unbalanced as he tried to keep moving. How was it that he was still moving in the first place?

Leaning against a tree, the young looking man took a deep breath. Just trying to get some kind of baring, to figure out what was going on around him.

Taking a look down at himself, he saw that his red robes were torn and shredded for the most part. His shirt, long gone, with only a strip of cloth wrapped around his left shoulder and to the right hip. His pants had left most of the right leg while the left had been cut off just below his knee. His long hair whipping around his face, almost slapping him onto the ground. Blinking his eyes slowly, the young man felt his red fox ears flicker atop of his head, his nine tails just dragging on the ground. He had no strength left in him, or at least most of his strength had already faded from the war.

 _'I have… to get further. I won't die here…'_ thought the man, no, thought the demon that went back on his journey. The battle, the war, it had felt like it was never ending. He had no idea that he would have survived, unlike his men… his men… Tightly shutting his eyes, he knew that he should have died with them, known that he shouldn't be alive right now but he refused to die in that place. He wanted to find a place to die, a place filled with peace so he could allow himself to go into another realm of peace… at least, he hoped that would be the case for him.

His face turning into a sad smile, he whispered "That would only be wishful thinking. There is no peace for me… I'm nothing but a monster, more so to humans." He gave a small sad laugh before he went on his way.

The crimson haired man had hoped that his journey to a peaceful rest wouldn't be far or long. Though, he had no idea if there was such a place waiting for him in the first place. All of it had been nothing but a dream… though, if he was honest with himself, he knew that he had many regrets in his life. He never found a mate, never had kits of his own. Never knowing the love of a woman.

Stopping in his tracks, he gazed up at the sky, wondering if maybe he was never meant to find love. Shaking his head, the young man kept on walking. He knew that he still had a ways to go, before his body would just give out on him completely. He couldn't just… give up. No, there was no way in hell, which his body would give up. Not yet! He still had to keep moving! _'Yet… would just a small rest be that terrible?'_ A part of himself spoke through his thoughts.

Shaking his head, the demon knew that he couldn't give in to such temptations. His strength of will, that was the only thing that he had that even allowed him to keep moving forward in the first place.

What would his resting place look like? Maybe a nice pond, filled with nothing but beautiful flowers, and trees that blew with cherry blossoms. Yes, that sounded nice, the sounds of birds chirping, the sounds of animals roaming around. Just thinking of such a place, it brought a ghost of a smile to his face… Yet, he could still feel no true joy. His body, he could feel something starting to come back to him now.

The first thing he started to notice, was the pain as it just seemed to jolt through his spin. Through his spin and to the rest of his body. Letting out a gasp of pain, the young man thought that he would fall over just from the shock alone. Gripping the nearby tree, the demon let out a sharp breath, his claws digging into the bark, his fangs grinding as he tried to control himself. No, he couldn't allow himself to fall… not yet. He had to keep moving, had to think of something else, anything really, to get the pain to stop in its tracks.

 _'More wishful thinking…'_ His thoughts told him.

Shaking his head, the young man tightly shut his eyes as he tried to breathe, tried to get his legs to stop shaking. Yet, even now, he could feel the pain steadily getting worse. If he didn't start moving now, he wouldn't be able to move again. Opening his faded crimson eyes, he pushed himself away from the tree and started to walk once more.

Every few steps, his tails would twitch from the pain. His ears perked and alert, the only thing on him that would even show any kind of emotion other than pain. He almost wanted to laugh at himself, a sad excuse for a demon. A demon, wishing for death right now… "Maybe I'll be lucky and heal the moment I arrive…" He said to himself, not sure if he would even heal in the first place. If he would, his healing would have kicked in by now. Not a single part of his body had started to heal, it was indeed, a cruel twist of fate right now.

Suddenly, the young man let out a yelp as he felt his foot get caught in a tree root. He fell forward, rolling down a hill as he cried out from the pain. Yup, a real great way to die right now… rolling down a hill and allowing his life's blood to spill from his wounds and stain the grass below him.

"Oof!" came out the small cry of the demon as he finally hit the bottom of the hill. All he could do, way lie there. His body, unable to move… Lazily, he lifted his head as he looked over at the side. Only for his head to fall down on the side, allowing the cool grass to brush his skin. Blinking lazily, his vision starting to blur at this point. _'Is… this the end?'_ he thought to himself, not sure if he could even speak anymore.

Yup, it was indeed a sad place to die, but sadly he couldn't go further.

"Hey, you okay?" asked a voice, causing the young man to look up. Or at least, attempted to. Blinking slowly, he looked up yet he couldn't make out much of anything with the way his vision had already blurred. "Are you even alive?" she asked, or at least he was sure that this person was a woman from the voice. Her answer? Him moving his tails as much as he could.

The woman got closer to him, causing him to get a better look at who she was. Or at the very least, what she looked like. She had long black hair, beautiful pale skin… eyes, a soft and loving brown. How was it that he's never met her before? What kind of demon was she? "It'll be okay, I got you… I got you…" She said in a gentle voice, causing him to just stare blankly at her. She reached out, cupping his cheek in her hand, he couldn't help but nuzzle against her open palm.

Her scent, it was calm… peaceful… it… it brought him a sense of peace. A peace, that he didn't think that he could feel, maybe this was what he was to do. He had to find her, to find this woman to help him with his peace to die… Taking one last look up at the woman, he couldn't help but think _'Beautiful'_ before closing his eyes.

* * *

Groaning, the young man started to open his eyes. He… was he dead? Blinking slowly, he looked around the area, wondering if this was the afterlife… It was a simple room, nothing special about it. Though, there seemed to be a few beds, all of them were empty though. A few wash bins at the sides of each bed, and a couple chairs in the corner of the room. There was even a small container that he figured held bandages.

 _'What is this place?'_ he thought to himself, trying to sit up only to growl in pain. _'Well, at least I know I'm not dead at the very least…'_ What was going on here though? Where was he? Where was that woman that he saw? Or was she only a figment of his imagination? _'No, someone that beautiful couldn't be made up.'_ God, his whole body hurt, though pain meant that he was still alive, so that had to mean something. Though, how was he still alive in the first place? Even if someone had found him in time, there was no way that they would have been able to heal him, unless they had some kind of special training with demons that would allow them to heal, or even if they had sacred abilities that would allow their powers to heal a demonic being such as him.

Taking another look around, he sniffed the air that surrounded him. Too many scents wafted to him, though most of them were stale, possibly days old at best, a week maybe. It had him curious, how was it that he couldn't smell a fresh scent? Or maybe his nose was a little damaged as well during his fight… That, or the other scents somehow over powered any new scent.

"Oh, you're awake! Thank goodness." Came a woman's voice, causing him to turn to the doorway. He could see her, so clearly now. Her skin, was indeed pale, more so than a human… Was she a Snow Woman? No, Snow Women don't have black hair… Her eyes, they were brown, just like when he saw her through his clouded vision. She wore a white kimono that seemed to move with her movements…

He remained silent for the most part, mostly out of thought. Trying to figure out who she was, and what she was. Yet, the woman must have thought otherwise, for she rushed to him and seemed far too concern with small things. Such as his pulse, and his wounds, not to mention his temperature. "Hm, everything seems fine. I'm glad you're doing better. You were in really rough shape when I found you. It's amazing really that I could have healed you at all. I am just glad I trusted my instincts to heal you…"

It seemed that she was starting to ramble on now. Did she ever stop talking? All he could do was stare at her, his ears flickering at her… He had to admit, she also had a beautiful voice, to go with a beautiful appearance. Yet, he still didn't know what she was or who she was…

The woman stared at him, her smile starting to form on her lips. Now that he thought about it, her lips… were a soft rosy pink. How was it that, that would be the only colour to her skin in the first place? "Do you speak? Or you just happen to be the only demon that doesn't seem to talk?" She asked in a joking manner. That itself, made him blink at her in shock. "Here, I'll introduce myself first, my name is Sachi. I'm a priestess." Wait, she's a priestess?! But, a priestess killed demons! They got rid of his kind and tried to wipe his kind out in a blink of an eye! Then again… she saved him… so, why?

It seemed that she saw the shocked expression on his face, before giving him a soft smile. "Do not worry, I don't hunt demons. You haven't done anything to me, yet… though, I highly doubt you will." She just smiled at him, god how was it that she could be this nice? Was she just too nice, or too naïve? "Can you talk though? If you do, it's only polite that you tell me your name."

Again, he seemed to refuse to speak.

Frowning, Sachi sighed softly before double checking his bandages. Why was it that she seemed sad that he hadn't said his name? Why did it bother him in the first place? Was it because she had, indeed, saved his life? Or was it something else? "I'm just happy you did wake up though. You've been asleep for almost a week. As soon as people saw me bring in a demon, they thought I was crazy and ran off." Letting out a soft sigh, she calmly said "I don't know why though, you haven't attacked them, you aren't one of the demons that have harmed any of us before. In fact, there aren't no fox demons near this village." No… fox demons nearby? He must have wandered further than he thought possible.

"Yet, I kept looking after you regardless of what they all told me. I wanted to know what happened to you. How you got that badly, even a demon don't fight and come out with injuries like that… At least, not alone anyway. What happened to your friends?" She spoke, her voice held a hint of softness to it. As if she was mostly saying it to herself the whole time, instead of to him. Didn't she know that she had turned herself into an outcast because she saved a demon?

"Anyway, I have to leave for a bit… I'll come back with some clean bandages and some food for you. I hope you feel better though… and return to your friends." Sachi said, smile in place as she pushed herself up and started to make her way out of the room, until a voice stopped her…

"Kurama…"

Sachi turned her head a bit, made the demon think if she had heard him. He tried again. "My name… it… it's Kurama."

Sachi seemed to have smiled a bit before she walked out of the door. Kurama couldn't help but smile a bit… he was alive, but he knew that he was still far from healing. Yawning softly, he laid down fully on the bed before he started to drift off to sleep once more. He was just… so tired, just wanting to sleep for a bit longer.

* * *

After a few days, Kurama had healed enough to stand up on his own. Though, still a bit wobbly on his legs… The war must have drained his chakra a great deal for it to have caused his healing to have slowed down so much. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gazed down at his body, getting a good look at himself. He had bandages around his chest, all the way down to his hips. His arms were bandaged, as were his legs. The only thing he wore was a pair of shorts right now. Reaching up, he grazed his cheeks with his fingertips, feeling some bandages there as well.

 _'I must have been in worse shape than I thought…'_ thought Kurama with a wince. Taking another look around, he saw that Sachi hadn't come into the room to check on him yet. Odd, she's normally in here by now… Pushing himself up, he decided to walk around the place, may as well get a feel for the place since it seems that he'd be here for a while.

Sniffing around, he could only smell himself, and Sachi, no one else seems to dare come here so long as he was around. "Are they that afraid of me?" He asked himself, only to shrug before he walked out of the room and made his way down a set of stairs. Yet, the closer to the end of the stairs he got, the more sounds his ears picked up.

"Get rid of him! He's a monster!" hissed a voice, causing Kurama to freeze where he stood.

"No, he is an injured man, nothing more." Came Sachi's voice.

"He isn't no man, he's a demon. Demon's hunt and kill us all the time! He's just one of them!" came another voice.

"Yeah, he's nothing but a beast! He'll attack us when we least expect it!" shouted another.

Kurama wanted to growl, wanted to march over there and tell them off but refrained himself from doing so. If he did, that would only prove them right about him. Closing his eyes, he was about to go back upstairs, just so he could ignore their accusations of him until Sachi's voice made him freeze again. "How about you all just shut up! You don't know anything about him, for as long as I've been tending him, he's been nothing but polite and calm. He's never once tried anything with me, never threatened anything or anyone for that matter. He was near death when I found him, I won't kill a demon unless they give me reason too, and he has yet to give me reason." Kurama slowly turned his head, ears picking up on her words. How could she be so sure that he wouldn't attack her or her village in the first place? She couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't attack… she was a foolish woman, a beautiful woman, but foolish.

Blushing at his own thoughts, Kurama quickly ran up the stairs, or at least as quickly as his body would allow. Sadly, he may have made some sounds as he made his way up the stairs for the voices all stopped. Making his way back to his room, or at least the bed he was using before laying back down. God, he was exhausted already, damn… his body was weak. He'd have to get back to working out when he recovered…

Soon, he heard footsteps, his ears twitching toward the door before he turned and saw Sachi. She had a faint smile on her face before walking over to sit on a chair at the edge of his bed. Amazing how he hadn't noticed that there the other day. "So you heard all of that huh…" Sachi said with a sad smile. Kurama sighed softly before nodding his head. He couldn't lie to her, he looked up at the ceiling, as if he was trying to think on what he should, or could say to the woman. "I hope they didn't hurt your feelings. They have been bothering me to get rid of you since I first brought you here…"

"Why bother with me in the first place? They are right, my kind have hunted humans in the past. For all you know, I could be taking advantage of your kindness to get back to strength and slaughter you all." Kurama calmly said before turning to stare at her, his gaze void of all emotion. As if he was trying to see if she would believe his words, or just throw his words out the window.

"You haven't shown any kind of hostility towards me since I woke up. Not to mention, you didn't have to tell me your name Kurama, yet you have. Plus, even now you are strong enough to kill me but haven't even tried." Sachi calmly explained. Yup, she threw out his so called 'threat' out the window pretty much. Sachi just smiled up at him before reaching over into a basket and pulled out some clean bandages. "Okay, I'm gonna need you to sit up on the edge of the bed for me so I can change your bandages."

Kurama sighed softly and moved so he sat on the edge of the bed. Sachi carefully removed the bandages on his legs first. He couldn't deny that he winced at how bad the wounds looked. The wounds were still open, and raw, covered and stained with blood that had dried under his bandages. Sachi sighed softly before she grabbed the basin of water and started to clean the wounds on his legs. He blushed a little but turned his head away hoping that she wouldn't notice. Why was he blushing in the first place?

Quick with her work, she replaced the bandages before moving over to sit beside him and started to remove the bandages on his left arm, then moved to sit on his other side, removing those bandages. Tilting her head, she smiled to herself. "These ones healed nicely, so I'll leave these to air out a bit before double checking them later okay?" Kurama just nodded, his bangs thankfully covering his eyes and half of his face from her view. What really caused his heart to beat loudly in his chest was when she got close to his chest. Since her arms were a little short or at the very least couldn't really reach around him fully, she had to, in essence, hug him with his arms up high so she could unwrap the bandages from him.

Kurama's face was tainted in a deep crimson. God, when she had to unwrap the bandages, he could feel everything. He could feel her arms as they carefully removed the bandages, could feel her chest pressing against his side. He fought off a nosebleed, though he wondered how long until his strength of will just disappeared or wavered, whatever came first for him.

Gulping a bit, he saw that she had finally pulled herself away and saw that she had finished removing the bandages. Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman reached over to the basin and started to wipe his wounds, causing him to let out a sharp hiss of pain. "Sorry, I know these must hurt a lot worse. The wounds on your chest were the worse that you seemed to have received in your fight." Kurama just gave a sharp nod, not wanting to speak thinking that if he did, that he would whine from the pain. "It may take a while to heal properly, so… I hope you don't mind the company of a human woman."

Once Kurama saw that she had finished wiping his chest, she reached over and started to rewrap his chest and stomach. The pain still lingered, though for now, it was bearable. "I don't mind. To be honest… I don't mind humans. I try to… um… well… protect them." Sachi looked up at him as if she was in shock at his confession. Looking away, he scratched his unbandage cheek as he said "My village, I guess you can say that we protect humans rather than hunt them down. We depend on humans, much like how the depend on us."

"A demon village that protects humans. Didn't think I'd ever hear that" Sachi said with a giggle. God, her laugh was so adorable. Blushing at his thoughts once more, Kurama looked away, unable to look her in the eye right now. "Maybe… one day… you could show me? I'd very much love to see that village." Kurama looked down at her in shock, yet… the expression on her face. The look of contentment, the idea of seeing a village such as his, it caused a sparkle in her eyes to appear. He couldn't help but say…

"Okay, one day I'll show you."

Hearing those words, caused Sachi to look up at him with a bright smile on her face. The smile itself, caused Kurama's heart to beat loudly in his chest. How was it that this woman, had already wormed her way under his skin in such a short amount of time? He had no idea, but he knew… that he would keep that promise to her, somehow. But for now, he had to focus on healing and staying alive.

* * *

Kurama wandered around the house while Sachi was out gathering herbs. He wondered what there was to do here while he healed. It wasn't like he could really do much of anything to be honest, not to mention, he was still in nothing but shorts and bandages. It was rather difficult for him to move around still though, but he managed for the most part. Though, he wondered if it was even safe for her to be outside. He knew how the villagers have been acting lately.

They hated her, all because she was tending to him. His eyes changed to solemn at the thought. No, they changed into guilt, knowing that it was because of him, that her own people hated her. Hated her because she was helping a demon, calling her some kind of demon lover. This had been going on, a couple weeks now, or at least a couple weeks after he first heard them yelling at her. Frowning a bit at the thought, he wondered why anyone would yell at such a beautiful woman in the first place…

Eyes widening again at his words, Kurama covered his face. Wanting to slam his head into a wall. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He shouldn't have any of these feelings for her, he was a demon. She was nothing but a human, a priestess even, and yet… here he was… Already starting to harbor feelings for her. Was this because she saved him, or because… she was… the one?

Looking out the window, Kurama couldn't help but wonder. What his clan would think of him now, what would his own family think of him now, if they had been alive. They may be very disappointed in him, knowing that he had somehow fallen in love with a human. Closing his eyes, he whispered "What am I to do? It isn't like I can just go and tell her…" He opened his eyes once more before turning to the door, a scent had wafted to his nose, causing him to frown a bit. He could smell Sachi walking to the house but… he smelled… blood?! Rushing out of the house, not caring that he only wore shorts, he didn't care about anything other than reaching Sachi.

"Sachi!" He cried out and he couldn't help but stare in utter shock at the scene before him. Laying there on the ground, was Sachi, she was trying to shield herself from the people punching, kicking, and throwing rocks at her. Sachi was shivering, though he had a feeling it was a mixture of pain and fear. No, he knew that it was, he could smell it wafting through the air. Sachi cried out when another rock hit her, this time, it hit her in the head, and at that point all he could see was red.

Letting out a loud roar, Kurama rushed forward, eyes glowing a deep crimson as he stood over Sachi, fangs bared as he growled at the humans. They all backed away from the enraged demon, they didn't know if he would attack them, or worse, kill them. Kurama just growled at them, flexing his claws, as if daring them to come and attack him. Even though he was still injured, he wouldn't allow anyone to hurt her…

"I knew the demon would attack us the first chance it got. It's nothing but a monster." Said a villager.

His growl went deeper and darker at their words. Tails whipping around behind him only to curl around Sachi as if to protect her from any more harm. A small whimper came from behind him, causing Kurama to turn his head, lifting his one of nine tails to stare at Sachi. She stared at him with fear, though it wasn't fear of the villagers… but fear… of him. Eyes widening for a brief moment, looking away from her before the red haze had faded from his mind.

Turning back to the villagers, he growled out "Don't you EVER attack her again. She hasn't done anything to deserve this." With that, he walked over to Sachi and lifted her into his arms, ignoring his own pain before walking back to her home. There was no way that he could believe that this had happened to her. Why would her own people turn against her, was it just because that… it made him lose his cool. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man sat Sachi down on a chair before he took a seat of his own. Turning to look at her, he frowned a bit, wondering if she would have asked him to leave and never come back.

"Kurama…" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes?"

"You… you wouldn't have really attacked the villagers would you?" asked Sachi.

Would he have? Frowning in deep thought, Kurama had no idea if he would have attacked them. He might have, though not hurt them. Maybe scare them off so they wouldn't have attacked her again. Letting out a soft sigh, the young man looked up at the woman whom had somehow captured his thoughts as he whispered "I… I don't know to be honest. I may have attacked to scare them, not hurt them. They were just… attacking you." Rubbing his face, he added "I know that doesn't justify things but… I don't know, I want to repay you for your kindness." The last part was a half-lie though. He was doing it, because he had started to grow feelings for her.

Man, when his parents had said that they had fallen in love at first sight, they weren't kidding. Though, he couldn't say that he had fallen in love at first sight, but… it had started from there hasn't it? Looking up at her, he added "Sachi, maybe… next time you go out… I… I can go with you. Just to keep you safe you know." He tried to smile, but it looked more like it was forced.

"Okay, but… next time maybe you should put on some clothes instead of shorts." She giggled softly. At least she wasn't mad at him. Well, maybe she was mad at him but didn't show it. Though he couldn't help but blush at the words that Sachi had said to him about his clothes. "Oh, that reminds me." Sachi pushed herself up and made her way out of the room, causing Kurama to blink in confusion as to why she left. Did she have something for him or was it something that she had pushed off to do until she got back.

When she returned, she held out some fabric for him. Blinking down at the clothes, Kurama stared at her, his eyes blinking in confusion. "I made you some new clothes. The ones you had on before were torn to shreds pretty much. So, I hope these fit you." Sachi said with a soft and gentle smile. Tilting his head, the young man carefully took the clothes from the raven haired woman and made his way to the other room. He was quick to throw on the clothes, though he couldn't help but stare at the outfit with shock and awe.

It was a simple outfit, a long robe, crimson much like his hair and eyes. It split down the sides starting at his waist allowing his legs free movement. His pants were black as coal but he thought that it suited him in the long run. Though, he saw the shoes and frowned a bit. He couldn't help but squint his nose at the idea, he didn't like shoes, and not many demons did. Shaking his head, he made his way out of the room and looked at Sachi with a small blush on his face. "They fit great, thank you." He smiled softly at Sachi, though the look on her own face had caused him to frown in confusion.

Sachi, just stood there. Her eyes were wide, her face tinted in a faint blush. A blush that only seemed to get darker and darker the longer she stared at him. "Um… Sachi?" He said, walking over to him as he stood in front of her. Huh… now that he got a better look at her, he couldn't help but notice that he was maybe a foot or so taller than her. "You okay?"

Sachi blinked her eyes as she looked up at the confused, and concerned demon before smiling up at him. "I'm just happy that the clothes fit you." Looking down, she frowned a bit as she added "You're not wearing the shoes…"

"I… don't really like shoes." Kurama answered honestly.

Sachi let out a soft 'hmm' sound as she tried to think on what she could do about that. Kurama wouldn't wear shoes, maybe because they didn't allow him to feel the ground. Then, she smiled before leaving the room and came back with some bandages, similar to the ones that she had wrapped his wounds in. "Try wrapping these around your feet." Tilting his head to the side, the fox demon nodded his head before he sat down, accepting the bandages and started to wrap the bandages around his feet. Leaving his heels, and his toes free to breathe.

"Hm…" Kurama finished his work before standing back up on his feet, only to smile. He could still feel the ground, so that worked out for him. Chuckling, he looked at Sachi as he said "This works for me." He grinned all the more before hugging Sachi in a tight embrace, causing her to blush.

Suddenly aware of his actions, Kurama pulled himself back and looked away. "Um… sorry… uh… thank you for the clothes Sachi." He felt a bit awkward right now. How was it that he allowed this to happen to himself? Turning to the human before him, he wondered if she would hate him right now… what he hadn't expected, was to see her smiling at him. Her smile, bright and radiant much like the sun flowers that he sometimes saw near his village.

Giving him a gentle smile, she said "You're very welcome Kurama. I'm happy that you have some clothes to wear… Now you can help me with some chores. If you want too of course." She giggled a little, her laugh… it was like bells to his ears. Smiling gently at her, the fox demon knew that he could love her, but knew that it couldn't be at the same time. There was no way that they could live a happy life together, not long anyway. Demons lived for thousands of years, humans, not so much. Giving her a sad look for a moment, the young man wondered… would this even work? Should he just run and never return? Should he even attempt it before he grew too attached to the tiny human woman?

Shaking his head, the young demon knew that he may as well enjoy what time he had with the woman. May as well right? Even if nothing could come of it, there could be a chance that they weren't meant to be together, and that his true chosen was someone else.

"Kurama?" Sachi called out.

"Oh, sure Sachi I'll help you around the house. Seems fair since you did save my life." He grinned from ear to ear. Yup, he was going to enjoy what time he could have with her. Because once he was healed, he knew that he would have to leave… even though a part of him, maybe a big part of him, didn't want to leave. Wanted to stay here really, and be with Sachi and just have as much time with her as he could. The thought though… of knowing that they could only spend at best maybe fifty years was something that broke his heart…

"Okay… I have to go tend to my injuries. After that I need some help with the herbs." Sachi said with a smile before leaving the room. The fox, could only stare at her with a sad sigh. Yup, he wouldn't have that much time with her before she was gone forever… Was it worth the risk?

* * *

Over the course of a few days, Kurama had helped Sachi with a few minor chores around the house. Mostly cleaning, helping her gather the herbs. A few times, he would have cut his hand on some kind of thorn, causing Sachi to giggle at him and tend to his cut. Kurama of course, would just stare at her with a blush on his face as she tended to him. To be honest, it almost felt like a never ending dream to the demon. A dream that he never wanted to end…

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man walked down the stairs of her home from his bed. He had started to heal a little better where he didn't need as many bandages on him. Though, he knew that he was still far from a hundred percent at this point. As he walked down the stairs, he saw Sachi yelling at a man that was at his door. Hiding himself once more, he knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but… he was worried about her. Thinking that they would attack her again. The thought of it, it almost made him growl.

"I don't care how many times you come here, I won't get rid of him, and, while you're at it, stop asking to marry me. You know nothing about me." Sachi said with a groan.

"He isn't safe for you Sachi… It's best that you stay at my place until he leaves. Plus, it gives us a chance to… get to know another." Why did hearing that piss the demon off?

"The answer is still no. Now leave." Sachi said with venom in her voice.

Kurama frowned a bit. Do people keep bothering her not just because of him, but for her hand in marriage? Hm… he'd have to do something to help her…

"Please Sachi, reconsider, if you're with me then you'll be safe from that monster!"

"I think she said to leave her be." Came a voice, causing both the man, and Sachi to turn their gazes to the man that now resided behind Sachi. Kurama had made his fox ears disappear, replaced them with normal human ears, and his nine tails have vanished. As had his fangs and claws, not to mention, his eyes were no longer crimson but a soft brown. Both the man, and Sachi stared at him agape, unable to comprehend what was going on here.

"Kurama?" Sachi whispered in shock.

"Hm?" Kurama looked down at Sachi with a big smile on his face.

"Sachi deserves a man who can protect her, who can give her everything she needs!" said the man with a glare. It was then, that the woman in question, or more likely in demand, glared at him and threw a fist at his fist, knocking him on his ass. The man glared at Sachi as he rubbed his cheek. "Why you-!?"

"I think Sachi can protect herself. Now, like she had asked you time and again, she said to 'leave'." With that, Kurama closed the door and let out a soft sigh. Though sadly that wasn't the end of it…

"Kurama, what have you done to yourself?!" Sachi cried out.

Turning to her, he frowned a little as he said "I… made myself look human. I hoped that maybe, the man would get the hint that he can't just 'ask' you to marry him if you declined." Rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous fashion, the young 'human' looking man, avoided eye contact with Sachi for a moment, only for his gaze to fall upon her. "I… I wanted to help you. I thought maybe if they see that a human male was here that they would leave you alone about a demon living here. It's my fault that no one wants to go near you, or your home. My fault that they're hurting you and… I'm just so sorry for all that happened to you for it was never my intention for you to get hurt." Letting out a soft sigh, he added "It isn't right for a beautiful woman like you to be hurt in anyway but to be cherished."

"Wh-What did you say Kurama?" asked Sachi, a soft blush on her face.

Kurama blushed, realising what he had just said to her before he looked away. "Oh look at the time, I have to go and check the garden for you!" He suddenly said before running off further inside the house. Not believing what it was that he had just said to her. He hadn't meant to just blurt that out at her yet, it happened. Damn him and his heart.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man made his way to the garden, wanting to think of anything but Sachi… yet, he couldn't even do that. His thoughts would return to her, to her wonderful smile. Her beautiful hair… God, he wanted to just hold her and never let go yet, he just couldn't do that. Turning to his hands, he couldn't help but stare at the clawless fingertips that he had given himself. He looked human, yet… he knew that he wasn't human. He couldn't be a human, and would never be a human. That much was for sure yet, he wanted to be a human, never in his entire life had he ever wanted something this badly yet knew, with all his heart that it would never come to be.

Sighing, the young man looked up at the sky as he whispered "Maybe… I could just look like a human for her. That would be close enough… right?" With that thought running through his mind, Kurama knew that he would have to act like a normal human. Or at least, attempt to at the very least.

Smiling to himself, the young man went to tending to the gardens, knowing that he would have to make sure that he had a lot to learn in order to be a human for Sachi. A human, worthy of her…

* * *

Over the course of a few days, the young man had tried to act as human as possible. Yet, that was easier said than done. Kurama knew that this was something that he wouldn't learn overnight, that much was for sure. Yet, he knew that it was something that he wouldn't learn overnight. After all, he had no experience with humans so he didn't fully understand how they acted for the most part. Mostly from what he had seen with Sachi thus far and humans from afar.

Sitting down at the table, he tried to use forks, spoons and knives for his food instead of his bare hands and claws. At least with the solid foods. Soups, he would have used a spoon regardless.

He even tried to keep his… should he call it jealousy and protective nature to a minimum. Not wanting to scare off anyone else, in fact all the humans assumed that he was someone else, and that the demon had taken off already. Not that he would complain for the moment, he knew that it was best this way. Sadly though, he still had his slip ups here and there. Such as leaning in close to Sachi to inhale her scent, standing in front of her to protect her when a man got too close to her or got into… well, a bit of a rage when someone called her a 'demon lover' just because, she had saved his life.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young man looked out the window of his room. Today, it was a simple day really… he had been asked by Sachi to go with her into the village to gather some supplies that she would need. Such as food, bandages and other items that she can't really get from her own garden. He agreed, just wanting to spend more time with her. Plus, it would give him a chance to learn more about humans by observation… well, partly anyway. There was still some things that he wouldn't want to learn, such as being an asshole to women.

Walking with Sachi into the village, he had noticed a few women watching him with what he assume were hearts in their eyes. It had him a little confused as to why they were staring at him like that… though then again, for him a demoness was different compared to human women. "Sachi," Kurama began, leaning close to her so he could ask his question. "Why are those women staring at me like that?"

Sachi turned her head and stared at the women whom seemed to glare at her for how close Kurama was. She giggled a bit as she said "They like you Kurama. And, right now they're jealous for me being close to you." Kurama blinked his eyes innocently before turning back to the women. Whom, seemed to smile at him, the smile itself to him was a little difficult for him to understand, he was about to wave but something in him told him to just ignore them. Turning back to look ahead, he walked with Sachi, just wanting to get this trip over and done with.

"Sachi, why do you live so far from the village anyway?" asked Kurama.

"I don't like crowds. I do like to help people, but… being around so many people is nerve wrecking to be honest. Plus, if I'm healing someone, the peace and quiet is good for them." She answered with a smile.

That did make sense. The sounds of birds, the silence from people… the smell of flowers and fresh cooked meals, it was enough to help him calm down and relax. So, he could understand that for the most part and couldn't help but chuckle. "I can see that." He said with a grin. Turning back to her, he asked "Though, why do men… bother you when they ask for your hand in marriage?"

"To be honest? I don't want a stranger to be my husband. I know the names of the people here yes, but… other than that I don't interact with them." Sachi answered with a soft sigh.

"But, if you don't get to know them they'll just be strangers anyway." Kurama pointed out.

"True, but… they haven't shown to want to get to know me anyway. They just seem to like me for my looks." She whispered, a frown on her face.

Kurama frowned a bit. Was that how she was seen really? Taking a look around, he saw a few men in the crowd, staring at her with the same look that the women were staring at him with. How was it that they didn't bother to try to spend any kind of time with her in the first place? He rather enjoyed her company, and it made him feel… happy, complete even. Turning to her, he couldn't help but stare at her with a soft sigh. Gently, he grabbed her hand as he whispered "If they can't bother to take time out of their day, to get to know you… then they just aren't worth it. I spend time with you and I can see that you are a wonderful woman… who is full of nothing but life, love, and sunshine."

Sachi looked up at Kurama with a soft blush on her face. Why did he say that? Was that something that was in his heart or was it something else? He had no idea, but… it felt right for him to have said that regardless. Taking a deep breath, Kurama pulled her to his side as he said "Honestly, I want to spend more time with you, and… uh… um…" He was at a loss for words at this point.

"Sachi, what brings you here!" came a voice, causing Kurama to look up and glare. Coming their way was a tall man with short brown hair. He had a big smile on his face as he walked over to Kurama, and Sachi. "Who is your friend?" The man stared at Kurama, though a dark look was on his face.

"This is Kurama, and we are just shopping. What do you want Kenta?" Sachi said with a glare.

"Oh, I'm just shopping for some beautiful items for my home…" He said, staring at her with some kind of hidden look in his smile. IT was… want? Desire? Lust? Kurama had no idea, but he knew was that it made his blood boil at this point. "I was wondering, if you would want to… join me for dinner tonight?" he asked, his voice not even bothering to hide anything. Such as his desire for Sachi.

"Sorry, but I'm busy…"

"Ah yes, whatever has happened to that… _demon_ that you had in your home a while ago?" The way he said demon, such venom almost made Kurama want to slap this man across the face, or at least punch him out cold. He refrained himself from doing so. Though, Sachi was not impressed either, telling him that the demon hadn't fully healed yet and that he shouldn't say the word 'demon' in such a way. "I'm sorry my dear, sweet Sachi, but demons aren't not meant to be pitied, but to be destroyed. They kill and hunt us! Why can you not see that?"

"He has done nothing of the sort Kenta. He has yet to attack us, yet to want to hunt us. Why can't _you_ see that?!" Sachi hissed.

Kenta shook his head and grabbed at Sachi, her eyes widening for a moment before she found herself in Kenta's arms. "Sachi, I am only trying to look out for you. Someone, as beautiful as you needs to be protected from anything… dirty and disgusting. Demons are everything we're not and cannot know the true meaning of honour, love, or duty… why do you try to see something in something that is not to be?"

Kurama growled, not just because of what that man said, but because he was holding his Sachi! Growling all the more, Kurama punched Kenta in the face, pulling Sachi back and stood in front of her, protecting her from this man. "Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on her again. She doesn't want you, doesn't want you to even touch her. Get it, through your thick fucking mind that she would never want you!" Kenta looked like he was about to speak again, until he went pale… everyone in the village had stopped and looked at what had happened only to gasp and cry out in fear.

Kurama looked around, confused as to what had them so afraid. It wasn't like he would have hurt them, he was harmless unless provoked. Yet, what they had cried out caused him to freeze.

"Demon!"

Looking down at his hands, he saw claws, and knew that his anger had caused him to shift back. Damn it all… Sachi gently grabbed Kurama's hand, causing him to look at her in shock, wanting to apologise to her only to freeze. She was smiling up at him, a true, bright smile. "It's okay Kurama, let's just go back okay? We can go shopping another day." Why… why didn't she seem mad? Upset? Anything of the sort? It just didn't make sense to him but… he wouldn't complain…

Turning back to Kenta, Kurama growled out "Leave her alone." After that, he started to walk off with Sachi.

The walk back to her home was silent for the most part. Kurama almost wondered if, in some way if she was mad at him for their trip being ruined for the most part. Yet, when she did speak… it was something else entirely.

"Why were you pretending to be human for so long Kurama?"

Blushing a little, he looked away. How should he tell her? To be honest, he wanted to be human, because she was a human… so she would… return his feelings for her. Yet, he knew that would be… creepy. Sighing softly, he looked away as he tried to think of something else to say. "Well… I… I thought you would hate being around me if I was a demon. You are getting hurt because of me so… I thought, if I was a human, that it would stop. It did, they stopped attacking you physically, but… I guess not verbally."

"But, why be something you're not?" she asked.

"I… wanted to be a better friend for you… I thought being a human would be the answer to be honest." He whispered softly.

Soon, he felt Sachi punch his arm, causing him to wince a bit. His body still hurt but at least it wasn't enough to do serious damage to him. Turning to the woman next to him, she just smiled up at him. "Kurama," She began, causing him to blink in confusion. "I like you the way you are. If you were something you aren't, then you are living a lie… just, be yourself. That was all I wanted from you is to be you." She finished, only to giggle a bit and walked on ahead. Kurama stared at her, a smile gracing his lips. She liked him the way he was huh?

 _'Well Sachi, I have a nice surprise for you after I've healed… I want to be the man… that you deserve, a proper man that is deserving of your love…'_ he thought before walking to catch up to Sachi. Life sure was going to be interesting for the two of them. Though, he still had many things to do before he's recovered… first things first, he had to get some metal and a stone…

* * *

Over the course of a few weeks, Kurama had been coming and going out of the house. He had gone out during the wee hours of the morning and coming back at dusk. He would appear tired and worn out, though he would just smile up at Sachi as if nothing was wrong. She had told him that he shouldn't be over doing it, and just focus on healing since he was still recovering from his near death experience. Though, Kurama would only shrug it off like nothing and go to sleep after eating something.

Sadly, Sachi couldn't deny that over the months, Kurama had grown on her. She didn't want to lose him, the way he would act around her, the things he would do and say… it made her heart flutter. Just like when he called her beautiful and that she needed to be cherished. No man had ever said that to her, not like that anyway. He seemed shy and bashful sometimes and innocent. Maybe that was because, he didn't know how humans were or acted.

Even knowing… that he would outlive her, she wanted to be with him. Her heart reached out to him but knew… that it couldn't be. Kurama wouldn't want to be with her and love her. She looked out the window as she wondered, where he was now. What he was doing and if he was okay. Had he been preparing for his journey back home? To go back to his own village and be with his own kind?

 _'I don't want him to leave…'_ she thought to herself before letting out a soft sigh.

Pushing herself back to her feet, the young woman made her way to her kitchen and started to get to work on something to eat. Making sure to make something for Kurama for when he returned. Yet, it still had her curious as to where he was right now.

Shaking her head, the young woman thought that she would make a stew for the two of them. Now that humans knew that Kurama, had in fact never left it was still rare for them to visit. More so for them to stay if she was tending to them after a serious injury. Turning her gaze back to the window for a brief moment, she couldn't keep her mind off of him for long…

The way he smiled, the way his tails or even his ears would move, showing his emotion. When he was sad, his ears would droop, his tails would just lay on the ground. Angry, frustrated or agitated, ears would twitch and tails would seem poofy. Happy, ears erect and tails wagging behind him… How was it that she could easily read him when that would happen? She had no idea, but knew, just knew… that he was the only man that she could ever love in her life?

"Sachi?" called Kurama, causing her to jump and look at the door. The man that had been haunting her thoughts walked inside with a small smile on his face. Yes, it… it just felt like he belonged here more than anything.

"Yes Kurama?" Sachi said, trying to hide her sadness.

"Well… you know I've recovered so… I could leave…" Why did hearing him say that break her heart this much? "And… well, I wanted to do something before I left. It's why I've been so busy and disappearing the last few weeks." What was he doing that would cause him to leave that much all this time? Sachi was about to speak but Kurama held up his hand, and she was silenced without a fuss. "Sachi… you saved my life… and I am forever grateful." He began, a soft smile on his face.

"Kurama…"

"Please let me finish… I won't be able to speak again if you do." He chuckled a little, causing her to smile a bit. "I was looking for a place to die peacefully in my battle… I had thought that I had died to be honest when I saw you." Blushing a little, he scratched at his cheek a little before saying "I thought I had seen an angel when you found me and… I still think of you as one. A beautiful angel anyway." Sachi blushed at his words. Taking a deep breath, Kurama walked over to the woman, his eyes kind and filled with a deep emotion that she didn't think could be possible. "Over the course of time that we've been here… you tending to me… I had started to grow fond of you."

"Kurama…"

"And, well… even before I first woke up I had feelings that I couldn't really explain. All my life, demoness's would throw themselves at me trying to gain my attention but I wouldn't give it." He sighed softly before turning away. "I thought I would never find someone to spend my life with, and during that battle I was even surer of it." Turning back to her, his smile once more filled with fondness and more. "Yet, when I first woke up, I believed it was a second chance to find 'the one' for me… and I have."

Sachi blushed at his words, not sure if she could believe any of this. What he was saying, almost sounded like he… as if he was… "Sachi…" he began, voice soft, loving… filled with the desire and fondness that she so wished would be directed at her and only her. "I love you…" He got down on one knee and held up a ring in his hand. It was a gold band with a transparent stone. It sparkled in warm colours, from what she could make out from it, they were red, orange and yellow. It just seemed to shine with the love that she could feel from Kurama.

All she could do was stare at him. Unsure if she could speak yet, unsure if she should speak as of yet. Her heart was pounding, and she could feel tears prickling at the back of her eyes. "Sachi, will you make me the happiest demon, man, alive and be my mate, and my wife? I promise that… I will spend every waking moment, every moment of our lives, to make you happy and never regret being with me… So, I ask you as a man, if you will marry me?"

"Yes!" Sachi threw herself at Kurama, causing the demon to yelp from the shock as he had his arms and tails wrapped around her. The young woman in his arms had her head laying on his chest, nuzzling him as she let out a happy sigh of content. The fox couldn't help but chuckle as he slid the ring over her finger as he cupped her face in his hand. Sachi looked up at him as she cried happy tears. "Kurama, I love you too… I was afraid you'd leave me alone."

"Never…" He whispered softly, leaning close to her as he pressed his lips against hers in a loving kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, just embracing the kiss as they laid there on the floor of the kitchen. They loved, laughed and enjoyed their lives together. Just like Kurama had promised, he made every moment together perfect… and she never regretted their love or their life together.


End file.
